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MEMOIRS 



THE LIFE 



SIR WALTER RALEGH, 



WITH SOME ACCOUNT 



THE PERIOD IN WHICH HE LIVED. 



BY MRS. A. T. THOMSON, 

AUTHOR or MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF HENRY THE EIOHTH. 



V 

^ 1 U ., , 

PHILADELPHIA: " 
PUBLISHED BY GIHON & SMITH, 

NO. 23 SOUTH EIGHTH ST. 

181G. 

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ADVERTISEMENT. 



In submitting to the Public a Life of Sir Walter 
Ralegh, some brief explanation may be deemed ex- 
pedient, of the reasons which induced the Author to 
consider such a work necessary, when the valuable 
labors of Oldys, Cayley, and Birch, are still in ex- 
istence. 

Independent qf the circumstances, that the efforts of 
these justly-prized biographers have been far too great- 
ly actuated by an indiscriminate partiality for the 
character of Ralegh, it may be alleged, that the narra- 
tives of the two first of these authors are encumbered 
with authentic, but heavy documents and dissertations, 
interspersed within the body of their respective works, 
rendering them fatiguing ; and, in the case of Oldys, 
almost revolting to the general reader. The concise 
compilation of Birch, admirable as far as it goes, is, on 
the other hand, too limited and cursory a sketch of 
the life and actions of Ralegh, to afford that satisfac- 
tory picture of his mind, and disposition, which biog- 
raphy is intended to furnish. 

Endeavoring to steer between these extremes, the 
Author of the Memoirs, now presented to the Public, 
entertains a well-grounded hope, that if her attempt to 
compose a full, and yet connected, narrative of Ra- 
legh's life be considered inefficient, the additional docu- 
ments which she has been enabled to supply will re- 
deem it from being wholly useless. In the Appendix 



IV ADVERTISEMENT. 

to this work, she presents to the Public fifteen original 
Letters, now for the first time printed, from the collec- 
tion in the State Paper Office. These, whilst they 
throw but little new light upon the participation of Sir 
Walter Ralegh in certain public affairs, are valuable, 
as confirming, in a manner satisfactory to the inquirer 
afler historical truth, the impressions previously con- 
ceived of the share which he took in the political 
transactions of his times. 

For permission to peruse and transcribe these inter- 
esting papers, the Author has to express her grateful 
acknowledgments to the Right Honorable Robert Peel, 
whose Uberality in this instance is as gratifying to the 
lovers of English literature, from the zeal for its in- 
terests which it evinces in that distinguished Statesman, 
as it is eminently beneficial to the humble, but earnest 
laborer in pursuit of historical knowledge. 

The Author has also considerable pleasure in ex- 
pressing her obligations to Robert Lemon, Esq., 
Deputy Keeper of the State Papers, for the polite and 
prompt assistance which he afforded to her, enabhng 
her to reap the full benefit of the privilege conferred 
by Mr. Peel. 

3 Hinde Street, Manchester Square, 
April 15, 1830. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Birth and Origin of Ralegh :— His Education and Choice of a Pro- 
fession :— His Services in France and the Low Countries :— Man- 
time Enterprises J— His Services in Ireland: — His Return to 
Court:— Characters with whom he had to deal.— Expeditions to 
Newfoundland— To Virginia.- Proofs of Favor from the Queen. 
—Ralegh's Occupations in Peace:— His Patronage of Hakluyt and 
Herriot.— Charge of Deism against Ralegh from various Wnters. 
1552 to 1586 Page 9 

CHAPTER n. 

Favor of Ralegh commented upon by Tarleton.— Further Under- 
takines of Ralegh.— Virginia.— Tobacco.— The Spanish Invasion, f 
—Lord Howard of Effingham— Ralegh's Share in repelling the 
\ Armada :— His Visit to Ireland.— Spenser.— Ralegh's Unpopularity 
with the Clergy.- Dr. Godwin.— Udall.— the Brown ists.— The 
Jesuits.— Father Parsons.— Ralegh's Marriage :— His Disgrace at 
Court: — His Voyage to Guiana. — Services in the Atlantic with 



Essex. 



38 



CHAPTER HI. 



The Island Voyage. — Mortifications sustained by Ralegh : — Failure 
of the Expedition.— State of Affairs at Home.— Decline, and sub- 
sequent Ruin of Essex:— 'fhe Share which Ralegh had in that 
AfTair '^'^ 

CHAPTER IV. 

Accession of James.- Intrigues against Tlalegh.— Mediation of the 
Earl (^ Northumberland.— Character of Cecil :— Of James :— His 
First Interview with Ralegh.— Causes of Ralegh's Disgrace.— 
Acts of Oppression on the Part of James.— Memorial Addressed 
by Ralegh to the King.— Reason assigned by James for his Dis- 
like to Ralegh.— State of Foreign Affairs.- Particulars of the Con- 
spiracy, commonly called "Ralegh's Plot."— Arabella Stuart— 
Brook— Cobham— Grey.— Examinations of Cobham and Ralegh : 
—Their Committal to the Tower.- Ralegh's attempt at Suicide : 
—His Trial.— Character of Coke.— The Trial and Fate of the 
other Conspirators.— Observations upon the Degree of Blame to 

be attached to Ralegh 130 

A3 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 



Trial of Ralegh.— Character of Sir Edward Coke.— Affair of the 
Lady Arabella. — Conduct and Sentence of the Prisoners 161 

CHAPTER VI. 

Estimate of Ralegh's Property: — His Estates and Occupations in 
Ireland. — Ralegh's Companions in Prison: — His Schemes with 
respect to Guiana. — Death of Cecil and of Prince Henry. — Ra- 
legh's Release from the Tower. 191 

CHAPTER VII. 

Ralegh's Designs with regard to Guiana : — His last Voyage thither : 
— Its unfortunate Issue. — His Return: — Apprehension — Trial — 
Death. — Account of his Literary Works, and Character. .... 213 



APPENDIX. 

Note A. 
Notices relative to the Fotatoe, by Dr. A. T. Thomson, Page 269 

Note B. 
Notices relative to Tobacco, by Dr. A. T. Thomson, 269 

Note C. 

Letter from Sir Robert Cecil from the Tower at Dartmouth, 2lBt 
September, 1592, 280 

Note D. 
Letter from Ralegh toCobham, 281 

Note E. 

Letter from Ralegh to Cobham, written during the last Progress 
made by Queen Elizabeth, 282 

Note F. 
Letter from Lord Grey to King James, 282 

Note G. 
Postscript to a Letter from Ralegh to Cobham 283 

Note H. 

Letter from the Lieutenant of the Tower to Cecyll. Signed John 
Peyton 283 



CONTENTS. Vli 

Note I. 

Sir W. Wade to Cecil. "Endorsed to me" in Cecil's hand 
writing. 284 

Note K. 
From Sir W. Waad to Lord Cecyll, 284 

Note O. 

Endorsed in Cecil's hand-writing. "My Letter to my Lord 
Grey," 284 

Note P. 

Letter from Hen. Cobham addressed to the Ryght Ho. my very 
Good Lord the Erie of Nottingham, Lord High Admiral, the 
Erie of Suffolk, Lord Chamberlain^ y" the lord Cisell, His Ma'tie's 
principall Secretarie 285 

Letter from George Brooke toCecyle 285 

Note Q. 
Notice relative to a Letter from Wade to Cecil, 285 

Note R. 
Letter of Sir W. Ralegh to King James 1 285 

Note S. 
To the Queen's most excellent Maiestie, 286 

Note U. 

Document signed. Addressed to Cecil. Endorsed, in Cecil's 
hand-writing "The Judgment of Sir W. Ralegh's case," .. 287 

Note Y. 

From Q. Elizth. to her Vice Roy in Ireland 1582. By the 
Queene 287 



LIFE 

OP 

SIR WALTER RALEGH. 



CHAPTER I. 

Birth and Origin of Ralegh : — His Education and Choice of a Profession s 
— His Services in France and the Low Countries : — Maritime Enter- 
prises ; — His Services in Ireland : — His Return to Court : — Characters 
with whom he had to deal. — Expeditions to Newfoundland— to Vir- 
ginia. — Proofs of Favor from the Q.ueen. — Ralegh's Occupations in 
Peace : — His Patronage of Hakluyt and Herriot.— Charge of Deism 
against Ralegh from various Writers. 

1552 TO 1586. 

The county of Devon was renowned, in the time of 
Queen Elizabeth, for the valor of its inhabitants in naval 
services ; and it is stiU honored as the birth-place of three 
celebrated navigators, Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Haw- 
kins, and Sir Walter Ralegh. Ralegh was born in the year 
1552, at Hayes, a farm rented by his father, situated in the 
parish of Budely, near that part of the eastern coast of 
Devonshire where the Otter discharges itself into the 
British Channel. 

To the scene of his childhood, Ralegh, in common with 
many men who have afterwards encountered the cares of a 
public career, retained an indelible attachment. It is pleas- 
ing to find him, at a subsequent period of his life, when 
ambition appears to have engrossed him, endeavoring, 
though without success, to possess the humble residence 
of his youth. The patrimonial estate was Fardel, in the 
parish of Cornwood, near Plymouth ; and Smalridge, near 
Axminster, is said to have belonged to his ancestors, in the 
time of Henry the Eighth, but to have been sold, from the 
prodigality of its owners.* 

The family of Ralegh at the time of his birth was greatly 
reduced in circumstances, and in the fiill experience of 

♦OWy8.p.5. -^j 



10 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

those privations which attend poverty, encumbered with 
rank. No title, except that of knighthood, had, indeed, as 
yet given false splendor to a name which boasted an an- 
cient connexion with Robert of Gloucester, a natural son 
of Henry the First ; but the name of Ralegh had been one 
of some importance, and of great antiquity. Varying in 
its orthography from Rale, or Ralega, to Ralegh, Raw- 
leigh, or Raleigh, this designation had been affixed to seve- 
ral villages and tovrais in Somersetshire, Devonshire, and 
Essex ; and his ancestors settled in Devonshire before the 
Norman conquest.* Allied by marriage to the earls of 
Devon, and related to various families of their own name 
in Somersetshire and Warwickshire, the ancestors of Ra- 
legh had suffered a gradual decrease in their landed pos- 
sessions; so that Fardel alone, of all their estates, remained 
as the inheritance of Walter Ralegh, the father of him 
who was destined again to raise his family to distinction. 
Some memorials of ancient grandeur were still however 
preserved from the devastations of time or misfortune ; and 
Sir Walter received, as an heir-loom, a target, which had 
been suspended in a chapel at Smalridge consecrated to 
Saint Leonard, by one of his forefathers, in gratitude for 
deliverance from the Gaulsf ; and the records of this en- 
dowment are stated to have been aft;erwards presented to 
Sir Walter Ralegh by a priest of Axminster.J That the 
origin and early piety of this ancient race were little 
known in the days of Elizabeth, until the feme of their 
celebrated descendant called them forth from obscurity, is 
evident from the anecdote which Lord Bacon relates, in 
illustration of the popular error which assigned to Ralegh 
the term " Jack, or upstart." Queen Elizabeth was one 
day playing upon the virginals, whilst Lord Oxford and 
other admiring courtiers stood by : it happened that the 
ledge before the jacks had been taken away ; upon observ- 
ing which the two noblemen smiled, and, when questioned 
by the queen regarding the cause of their mirth, gave as 
the reason, " that they were amused to see that when jacks 
went up heads wentdown."^ The Queen, notwithstanding 
this sarcastic allusion, had not, however, in receiving Ra- 
legh into her favor, departed from her usual rule of never 

*Cayley, p. 2. t Prince's Worthies of Devonshire, p. 530. 

JCayley. § Bacon's Apoththegms, No. 183. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 11 

admitting " a mechanic or new man into her confidence* ; " 
and Ralegh had, afterwards, the credit, by his deeds, of 
directing the investigation of antiquaries to the details of 
his lineage. These, as points of curious inquiry, demand 
some attention ; but are of subordinate interest in the his- 
tory of one whose very poverty and obscurity became the 
origin of liis fortunes, by being the stimulus to his industry. 

That Ralegh naturally, and even commendably, prized 
the advantages of an honorable descent, may be inferred 
by the solicitude afterwards displayed by his relative 
Hooker to define, in his dedication to him of the Chroni- 
cles of Ireland, the claims to distinction which their com- 
mon ancestry possessed ; since Hooker enjoyed the patron- 
age and friendship of his kinsman, and sought in his wri- 
tings to do him honor ; but there is no reason to suppose 
that he rested his hopes of greatness upon any basis less 
solid than that of his own merit and exertions. With the 
inconveniences of a reduced inheritance, the father of Sir 
Walter Ralegh experienced those attendant upon repeated 
marriages, and numerous offspring. By his first wife he 
had two sons, the elder of whom, George, became the pos- 
sessor, after his death, of Fardel ; which afterwards de- 
volved, successively, to his two brothers, the younger of 
whom, Carew, sold his patrimonial property, and it passed 
for ever from the family of Ralegh. The mother of Ralegh, 
and the third wife of his father, was the daughter of Sir 
Philip Champernon of Modbury, and the widow of Otho 
Gilbert, a gentleman of large property, residing at Comp- 
ton, in Devon. Three children, Carew, Walter, and Mar- 
garet Ralegh, were the result of this last union ; after 
which the father of Sir Walter resided entirely at Hayes, 
where the younger branches of the family were reared. 

It is singular that no trace is preserved, either in the let- 
ters, or by the conversation of Ralegh, of the mode and 
place of his earliest education. 

That species of biography which, by describing the pro- 
gress of intellect, affords the most important assistance, 
and, oftentimes, encouragement, to the young and aspiring, 
appears to have been little enjoyed or understood by our 
ancestors. It was thought much to preserve the name of 
the college, or' even of the university only, where a cele- 

♦ Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia, 4to. p. 28. 



12 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

brated individual received his last chance of tuition : "und 
the history of his previous early years, in which the bias of 
the character is generally determined, has scarcely ever 
been transmitted to us, even by those who have been mi- 
nute and faithful annalists of the events of mature life. 
Respecting the portion of instruction which fell to Ralegh's 
lot, it is merely known, that at sixteen he was sent to Ox- 
ford, and was entered as a commoner both at Oriel College 
and at Christ-Church, in compliance with a custom not un- 
usual in former times, and, probably, intended to secure the 
privilege of aspiring to a fellowship at one or other of these 
colleges.* During a residence in the University of three 
years, he devoted himself with success to the study of 
philosophy and of letters ; and, though he left Oxford without 
a degree, yet, he acquired a higher honor in obtaining 
the good opinion of !^acon, who Siere foretold his ftiture 
eminence.! 

In the choice of a profession Ralegh appears to have 
been divided, for some time, between the bar and the camp. 
That he actually entered at any of our inns of court is, 
however, doubtful ; and the prevalent opinion, that he was 
at one time a student of the Middle Temple, arose either 
from his display of legal acuteness on his subsequent trial, 
or from a temporary residence within the walls of that es- 
tablishment. Queen Elizabeth, with a view, perhaps, to 
the intellectual culture of her young courtiers, commended 
our inns of court, and was accustomed to say, " that they 
fitted young men for the future :" hence it is probable that^ 
in those days of mental slavery, all who aspired to her fa- 
vor were reported to have pursued the course which she 
approved ; and that Ralegh was not unwilling, during her 
reign, to enjoy the credit of having been thus prepared for 
public life. He is, however, affirmed by one who knew him 
well, to have been trained, " not part, but wholly gentle- 
man, wholly soldier ;" and there appears to have been but 
little time allowed for any other plans of study, since, 
from the statement of Hooker, he spent in France " good 
part of his youth in wars and martial services."}; In the 
circumstances of his relations Ralegh found inducements 
to a military career : his maternal uncle, Henry Champer- 

• Puller's Church History, lib. 4. and 5. fol. 104. \ Oldys, p. 5. 

t Ralegh's Ghost, 4to. p. 15. and Hooker, Epist. Ded. See Oldys, 9. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 13 

noH, being an officer of some note in our armies.* At the 
request of tliis kinsman, RalegJi enlisted into a troop of 
gentlemen volunteers under Champernon's command, who 
purposed leading them into France, in order to assist the 
Protestant princes engaged in the civil wars of that coun- 
try. This adventurous band went forth on horseback, 
bearing on their colors tlie motto, " Finem del mihi virtus" 
They were sanctioned by the permission of Elizabeth, who 
had shown her approbation of the cause by accommodating 
the Queen of Navarre with a sum of money, upon the 
deposit of certain jewels in the English treasury.f It is 
doubtful in what service, or with what success, the troop 
were distinguished in France; but it appears that they 
were well received by the Queen of Navarre and the Pro- 
testant princes, and that they remained six years in their 
employment 

It i.s conjectured tliat, unless on some casual leave of 
absence in England, Ralegh must have witnessed the mas- 
sacre of Saint Bartholomew in 1572, and shared in the 
dangers of the untbrtunate Hugonots. Perhaps, from his 
participation in the horrors of this scene, he imbi^jed that 
aversion to religious intolerance which afterwards charac- 
terized him as a senator, and which was then far less 
prevalent, even among philosophical and intelligent men, 
that it has happily proved to be in the present day. What- 
ever may have been Ralegh's situation on this momentous 
occasion, no actual traces of its impression on his mind re- 
main, however, in his writings, nor have been transmitted 
by his biographers; a circumstance which may seem to 
imply his absence from the massacre, since he has alluded 
to many of his services in his works. It is scarcely proba- 
ble that allusions to such an exhibition of human ven- 
geance in its most appalling form would have been omitted 
by one who, in his History of the World, has frequently 
drawn a parallel between the scenes which he narrates, 
and those with which he was identified by hi&own experi- 
ence. 

In that monument of his genius and industry, he refers 
to his presence at the battle of Moncontour, in Poitou, and 
extols Count Lodovic of Nassau, brother to the Prince of 
Orange, who made the retreat on that occasion, with such 

* Wood, Atben. Oxoniensist, voL i. col. 435. t Camden, p. 117. 

. B 



14 LIFE OF SIR WALTEU RALEGH. 

resolution and prudence that he saved one half of the Pro- 
testant army, then broken and disbanded : — " of which," 
says Ralegh, " myself was an eye-witness, and was one of 
them that had cause to thank him for it."* It is a fact 
equally certain, and much more important, that in these 
tumultuous scenes, Ralegh, then only in his eighteenth 
year, collected and stored up a portion of those facts and 
observations with which he afterwards enriched his Histo- 
ry of the World; a work to which the soldier and the 
scholar, the courtier and the moralist, may repair both for 
instruction and delight. 

In 1575 he returned to England for a few years, but soon 
resumed his military career, under Sir John Norris, in the 
Netherlands. Here he was, in all probability, engaged in 
the battle of Rimenant, in which Don John of Austria, then 
governor of the Netherlands for Philip the Second of 
■trja Spain, was defeated; a disgrace which that com>- 
■ mander only survived two months. 

An enterprise of a new description now engaged the 
energetic mind of Ralegh. Various circumstances con- 
spired tp direct his attention to the progress of maritime 
discovery ; a subject on which the imaginations of the ar- 
dent, and the speculations of the busy, were then actively 
engaged. During the two last centuries, a spirit of daring 
adventure had been encouraged by the splendid examples 
of Vasco di Gama and of Columbus, and by the merito- 
rious, though less fortunate, exertions of Magellan, who 
lost his life before his undertaking was completed. Spain 
and Portugal, mutually jealous to obtain the earliest 
knowledge of the shortest passage to the valuable posses- 
sions of India, vied with one another in endeavoring to 
promote, throughout their respective dominions, a thirst 
tor maritime glory. England had borne her part in the 
emulous contention for colonial superiority, and, in common 
with her continental rivals, had, latterly, turned her at- 
tention towards the north-east coast of America. In the 
reign of Henry the Seventh, the island of Newfoundland 
was discovered by a Venetian merchant, Sebastian Cabot, 
who took the command of an English squadron. To extend 
our knowledge of this territory, and to obtain a more se- 
cure and acknowledged possession of it than had, hitherto, 

* Hist, of the World, book v. chapter ii. sect. 8. edit- Lond. 1687. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 15 

been effected, became, in the reign of Elizabeth, the ob- 
ject of general solicitude. 

It was the fortunate lot of Ralegh, not only to possess an 
enterprising and resolute spirit, but to be connected with 
those who had the will and the power to encourage his 
rising genius. His relations on both sides were eminent ; 
and his mother was, at a later period, authorized to make 
a boast, rare in those days, of being the parent of five 
loiights. Of these, three were the sons of her form.er mar- 
riage, — Sir John, Sir Humphrey, and Sir Adrian Gilbert.* 
Sir John Gilbert was sherift' and Gustos Rotulorum of the 
county of Devon, and was a kind of oracle in those parts, 
as well as a libeml country gentleman, and benefactor to 
the poor. Sir Adrian was scarcely less estimable, and be- 
came more famous than his pacific brother, for a patent 
which he took out for the investigation of the north-west 
passage. With this patent, and under his auspices, the 
celebrated John Davis discovered the straits which bear 
his name. But the most admirable, although the most un- 
fortunate, of the three brothers, was the distinguished 
marmer. Sir Humphrey Gilbert.f This good and brave 
man, although a second son, yet received from his father a 
very ample fortune ; but it was from his mother's judicious 
care that he derived the still greater advantage of an ex- 
cellent education, at Eton first, and afterwards at Oxford. 
Since this lady was, also, the mother of Ralegh, and had, 
by both her husbands, the credit of giving heroes to the 
world, it is not extravagant to conclude that she must her- 
self have been a woman of merit, and that the energetic 
character of her children might, in a great measure, be 
attributed to her nurture and example. 

Like Walter Ralegh, his half-brother. Sir Humphrey, 
after quitting college, had some intention of studying at 
one of the inns of court, although his favorite pursuits^had 
been cosmography and navigationf : but being introduced 
to Queen Elizabeth by his aunt, Mrs. Katherine Ashley, 
one of her majesty's waiting-women, he made so rapid a 
progress in her favor, as soon to be preferred to a very im- 
portant command in Ireland. Here, like Ralegh, he passed 

* Note in Biographia Britaiinica, Life of Sir H. Gilbert. 
t There was in the reign of Henry the Seventh a famous navigator of 
the same name, whose maps are still preserved in Whitehall.' 
t Biographia, note from Hooker's Dedication. 



16 LirE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

some years in an arduous and bloody service, until he had 
attained his tliirty-third year ; when returning to England, 
he resolved to add to the glory of his name and country by 
some important and difficult enterprise, the spirit of which 
he doubtless imbibed from the examples of tlie other great 
navigators of the times. 

Sir Humphrey was thirteen years older than Ralegli, 
and may be supposed to have possessed a very considerable 
influence over his mind. — Their characters were, indeed, 
in many points similar ; their views and pursuits were the 
same : both were entliusiastic, aspiring, patriotic ; and both 
were imfortunate. The device which the elder brother 
adopted early in his career might have been used, also, by 
liis successor in the paths of fame : it represented Maitj 
and Mercury joined by a cross, with this motto, — Quid 
non 1 alluding to the power which is acquired by a strong 
determination to unite pursuits the most dissimilar, and to 
conquer difficulties. 

Successful in the field, and bold and impressive in the 
House of Commons, in which he sat as representative for 
Plymoutli, Sir Humphrey, about tlie period when Ralegh 
had made his first essay in military operations, began to 
revolve in his mind the practicability of mtiking out a 
north-west voyage to the East Indies. The existence of 
such a passa^ge was first discovered by liim by means of 
his mathematical knowledge, and a scientific and perspicu- 
ous treatise written in support of his arguments;* but he 
was destined never to enjoy the honor of executing the 
project which he had conceived : it was, however, com- 
pleted after his death, as we have seen, by his brotlier, 
Adrian Gilbert. 

, (.^Q Deferring for a time the commencement of tliis ini- 
■ portant scheme, Sir Humphrey obtained permission 
of the queen to plant and inhabit certain parts of North 
America, which were not occupied by any of her allies.^ 
In this undertaking, which was professedly for the exten- 
sion of the Christian faitli, he was joined by Ralegli, from 
motives probably mingled, ambition, desire of gain, and 
ardor for distinction, being, perhaps, his first inducements. 

For this and similar expeditions, not courage only, but 
capital, was required. Elizabeth, at the beginning of her 



Hakliivts Vnv. iii i>. 11. t Bir''h. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 17 

reign, possessed seventeen ships of war only, and the rest 
of the British navy, which effected afterwards such glorious 
achievements, was composed either of ships supplied by 
Bristol, Barnstaple, or other commercial towns, of vessels 
hired by the queen, or furnished by the company of mer- 
chant adventurers, by the city of London, or even by pri- 
vate individuals.* The share which Ralegh had in the 
risk or profits of his first voyage to Newfoundland, was, 
probably, confined to his personal participation in its dan- 
gers ; for, at this early period, he had little to venture 
in any enterprise. He joined his kinsman with several 
other gentlemen, but circumstances were adverse to their 
success. Many who had promised to assist them with men 
and ships failed in their engagements. They set out with 
two sail only ; one of which, after various perils, was lost 
in an unfortunate engagement with the Spaniards; and 
Raleigh, after encountering dangers which would have 
disheartened a man of a less sanguine temperament, re- 
turned to England, not to relax into inaction, but to point 
his exertions towards other objects. He soon found em- 
ployment for his active temperament in a school of military 
science, similar to that in which his brother-in-law had been 
already trained. The situation of England, with respect to 
neighboring countries, afforded to her young, half-civilized, 
and warlike nobility, a constant and yet varied school of mili- 
tary science, the favorite study as well of a barbarous as of 
a corrupt age. France, the Netherlands, and especially Ire- 
land, gave continual occupation to her armies, and prevented 
the courtiers who thronged around the queen from becoming 
exclusively the indolent minions of her vanity. The Irishry, 
as they were vulgarly called, were with difiiculty kept 
even in the semblance of subjection ; and disturbances, 
succeeded by actual rebellion, were the incessant results 
of the attempts which Elizabeth made to introduce, by 
force, the reformed religion into the sister kingdom. In- 
deed, being, as Camden describes them, " an uncivill peo- 
ple, and the more prone to superstition," it required a far 
greater military force than the parsimonious expenditure 
of the queen allowed, to prevent the frequent recurrence 
of such broils during the whole of her reign. New troubles 
had now arisen ; and a plot, commenced in 1570, at the 
instigation of Philip the Second, m order to place the natu- 

• Campbell's British Admirals, vol. i. n. HI. 

B2 



18 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ral son of Pope Gregory tlie Thirteenth on the throne of 
Ireland, was revivea under a more threatening aspect. 
The invaders, composed partly of Spaniards, partly of Ital- 
ians, landed under the command of an officer named San 
Joseph, at Smerwich, in Kerry, where they erected a fort, 
to which they gave the imposmg designation, " Del Oro."* 
It was at this crisis that Ralegh obtained a commission, 
under Lord Grey of Wilton, then Lord Deputy of Ireland, 
a nobleman of considerable abilities, sullied, unhappily, by 
cruelty. The principal services in which Ralegh joined, 
were performed under the command of Thomas, earl of 
Ormond, Governor of Munster, whom he assisted in quell- 
ing the rebellion in that province. The conduct of the 
yoimg soldier, although commended for valor, was yet dis- 
graced by a degree of barbarity scarcely to be excused in 
earlier times than those in which he lived. Having sur- 
prised the rebels at Rakele, he observed one of the prison- 
ers laden with withies. To the inquiry what he meant to 
have done with these, the undaunted reply was given, " To 
have hung up the English churls." Ralegh, unmoved by 
the hardihood of the unfortunate man, caused him to be in- 
stantly strangled witli his own withies, and ordered his 
companions to be treated in a similar manner.f This con- 
duct, which presents not the only charge of cruelty with 
which the memory ^f Ralegh has been taxed, appears, 
however, to have been approved by the Lord Deputy, who, 
like the other English commanders of the period, regarded 
the Irish rather as a race of wild and noxious animals that 
ought to be exterminated, than as human beings, subjects 
of the same monarch, children of one heavenly Father, and 
creatures capable of being reclaimed from error and turbu- 
lence by mild and just, yet vigilant, measures. The dis- 
position evinced by Ralegh towards this wretched people 
proves how frequently scenes of bloodshed obliterate, for a 
time, virtuous dipositions and the convictions of philosophi- 
cal reasoning. Ralegh was, indeed, brought by adversity 
and reflection to see the folly, the guilt, and the shame of 
those pursuits, however skilfully conducted, which en- 
croach upon tlie happiness of our fellow-men. Stripping 
away the false colors in which the prejudices of education 

* Rapin, vol. vii. p. 404. Gordon's Hist. Ireland, vol. i. p.^373. 
t Birch's Life of Ilalelpth, from Hooker'? Hiippleineni cf Ihr fhronicle 
of Ireland, in Holinslied. fol H>7. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 19 

and the ardor of youth had once arrayed the mighty con- 
querors of the earth, Ralegli has left his testimony to the 
great truth, that we shall one day cast off our false notions 
of glory, separated from virtue, as pernicious and grovel- 
ling delusions. "And as certainly," says he, "as fame 
hath often been dangerous to the living, so is it to the dead 
of no use at all, because separate from knowledge : which 
were it otherwise, and the extreme ill bargain of buying this 
lasting discourse understood by them which are dissolved, 
they themselves would then rather have wished to have stolen 
out of the world without noise, than to be put in mind that 
they have purchased the report of their actions in the world 
by rapine, oppression, and cruelty, — by giving in spoil the 
innocent and laboring soul to the idle and indolent, and by 
having emptied the cities of the world of their ancient in- 
habitants, and filled them again with so many and so variable 
sorts of sorrows."* Such were the sentiments of Ralegh, 
when in confinement, old age, and sorrow, he awoke to the 
feelings of nature, and yielded to the dictates of reason. 

Meanwhile, the season of his youth was occupied in 
furthering those designs which, in his later days, he justly 
execrated and contemned. His zeal in the queen's service 
was rewarded by an appointment to command in the siege 
of Del Oro. By this post the Spanish vessels were enabled 
readily to bring supplies to the insurgents, and it was con- 
sequently of the utmost importance. It soon fell before the 
assaults of the English, who, under the command of Admi- 
ral Winter, invaded it by sea, and, by land, under that of 
Lord Grey, while Ralegh fought with great valor in the 
trenches. Such was the barbarous policy of the Lord 
Deputy that, although the garrison surrendered, yet the 
greater part were slaughtered ; and to Ralegh, j^ g 
and to another officer who first entered within the jqkW 
castle, the execution of the iniquitous task was 
intrusted. 

Unwearied with this terrible service, Ralegh remained 
at Cork during the winter, and occupied this season of re- 
pose from military toils, in watching the most conspicuous 
individuals amongst the rebels, and in harassing those 
whoso wealth rendered them desirable prizes to the Eng- 
lish government. Cruel, indeed, were the dissensions of 



* Hist, of the World Conclusion. 



20 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

that period, when tlie fear of Ralegh's unrelenting and 
destructive hand impelled the Lord Barry to burn his cas- 
tle at Barrymore rather tlian leave it in the possession of 
his bloodthirsty and rapacious enemies. Among the peril- 
ous services in which Ralegh was engaged, the seizure of 
Lord Roche, a powerftil insurgent nobleman, may be con- 
sidered as a remarkable instance of his valor and address. 
To dispel the formidable confederacy in which Roche was 
engaged, he offered to bring him, with his family, before 
the Earl of Omiond, at Cork. This design appeared im- 
practicable, from the numerous partisans of the rebel chief- 
tain, scouring the country in bajids, or infesting it in am- 
buscades. But Ralegh stole a night march, with great 
secrecy and alacrity ; and partly by manoeuvre, partly by 
force, effected an entrance into the very halls of tlie enemy. 
Here he was tempted, by the proffered hospitality of the 
Irish nobleman, to waive the purpose of his visit He par- 
took, indeed, of an entertaimnent, but when it was con- 
cluded, avowed his resolution to oblige his host to return 
with him as a prisoner. Lord Roche, finding resistance 
useless, consented to accompany liim, declaring that he 
w^ould proVe himself innocent of tlie charges brought 
against him. He found, however, that the young Eng- 
lishman was resolved on carrying him to Cork by night, 
notwithstanding the natural perUs of tlie road, and those 
which were prepared for tliem by the vigilant and active 
Irish rebels. Regardless of tliese sources of danger, Ralegh 
and his prisoners went forth, sheltered by the obscurity of 
the night from the attacks of the rebels, but exposed to 
fatal accidents from the rocks and hills, which, in a country 
scarcely civilized, presented incessant obstacles to a safe 
journey. Many of his soldiers were severely hurt, and 
one of them killed by repeated falls ; but Ralegh forgot his 
troubles when he presented to the Lord Ormond, on the 
following day, his important prizes. The most satisfactory 
result of tlie afiair was, that Lord Roche was honorably 
acquitted, and that he afterwards conducted himself as a 
faitliful subject* 

On the departure of Lord Ormond for England, Ralegh 
was intrusted witli the government of Munster, in con- 
junction witli two other oliicers.t In this situation he con- 
tinued until the spring of tlie year 1582, when, upon the 

• Oldys, 48. t Spenser'B View of the State of Ireland. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 2j 

subjugation of tlie prmcipal rebels, lie returned to Eng-lond ; 
desirous, probably, to walk in tlm sunshine of that court, 
the splendor of whicli, independent of any substantial ad- 
vantages, attracted an ardent and ambitious mind. 

Ralegh was now in his tliirtietii year. Few persons have 
entered public life with advantages of mind and person equal 
to those which he possessed. Few sovereigns have known 
better how to prize both mental and external attributes than 
the vain but discerning Elizabeth. The features of Sir 
Walter Ralegh are said to have been moulded with tlie ut- 
most symmetry, and the outline of manly beauty to have 
pervaded tlie whole countenance. He had a noble and ca- 
pacious tbrehead, an eye beammg witii intelligence, soften- 
ed with the shadows of profound thought. Such at least 
is the impression conveyed by the most favorable portraits 
of this gitled man : these difler, however, greatly, and one 
may almost imagine to trace the changes that mark tlie gra- 
dations from youthful ardor to the cares of matiu^ity, from 
the cares of his maturity to the sorrows, perplexities, and 
infirmities of his old age. The person of Ralegh was ad- 
mirably proportioned, and dignified, his height being nearly 
six feet.* Thus he united every attribute of grace with 
Btrengtli, and doubtless with expression : for it is impossible 
tliat such a mind as his should not have imparted a power 
of fascination, of which even an ordinary countenance is 
susceptible when illuminated with genius, and consequently 
with sensibility. TJiese natural advantages were import- 
ant circumstances in tlie eyes of Elizabeth, who frequently 
selected the objects of her regard from trivial motives, but 
retained them in her favor only as she found tlieir talents 
justify her choice. To tlie attractions of a noble figure 
Ralegh studied to combine those of a graceful and splendid 
attire. Many of his garments were adorned with jewels, 
according to the richest fashions of the day, and his armor 
was so costly and curious, tliat it was preserved, for its ra- 
rity, in the Tower. In one of his portraits he is repre- 
sented in this armor which was of silver richly ornamented, 
and his sword and belt studded with diamonds, rubies, and 
pearls. In another, he chose to be depicted in a white 
satin pinked vest, surrounded with a bit)wn doublet, flow- 
ered, and embroidered with pearls ; and on his head a little 

♦ Oldys, 145. ' 



22 LIFE OF SIR WALTER R ALKG II. 

black feather, witli a larjre ruby and pearl drop to confine 
the loop in place of a button.* These, it may be said, were 
no extraordinary proofs of costly expenditure in dress, in 
days when it was the boast of Villiers duke of Buckinsj- 
hani, to be " yoked and manacled" in ropes of pearl, and to 
carry on his cloak and suit alone, diamonds to the value of 
eighty thousand pounds : but the duke was rather a cour- 
tier than a statesman, and was little else ; whilst Ralegh, 
as a man of science, of letters, and of martial reputation, 
might have been supposed wortliy of deriving reputation 
from higher sources witliout tlie necessity of descending to 
the trivial competitions of dress. It is not to be supposed 
that any of the fair sex could be insensible to this trait of 
character in the accomplished Ralegh ; and abundant proofs 
have shown, that tlie wise and wary Elizabeth prized these 
adventitious attributes as highly as the weakest and vainest 
of her attendants. She received therefore, with compla- 
cency and surprise, the adroit flattery of Ralegh, who, 
meeting the queen near a marshy spot, threw off the mag- 
nificent mantle which he wore, and cast it on the ground. 
This anecdote, wliich is generally related of their first 
meeting, if not true, is at least characteristic. He soon 
received encouragement even from the pen of tiie queen. 
He is related to have written upon a window, wliich she 
could not fail to pass, this line : " Fain would I climb, but 
yet fear I to fall ;" which received from the hand of Eliza- 
beth this reply, " If thy heart fail thee, climb not at all."t 
To her masculine shrewdness, the queen united some sen- 
timents of romance which would have accorded with a 
gentler nature. She commended poetry, especially when 
addressed to herself, altliough she allowed tlie illustrious 
Spenser to languish in poverty. Ralegh, like many men 
of genius, in youtJi expended the exuberance of a power- 
ful mind in verses which add but little honor to his great 
name, except as they show the versatility of his talents, 
and the enthusiasm of his sentiments. Early in life he 
wrote commendatory stanzas to Gascoigne's " Steel Glass" 
dated from the Temple: the "Silent Lover," and the 
" Excuse" followed at intervals ; but the only masterly 



♦ Oldys, H3. Note in Ibid. fVom a MS. in Ilarleian. B. H. 90. c. 7. 
fol. 6?2. 
t Fuller's Worthie* of Devon, 



UPR OF BlRWAI/rEU UAI.ECFI. 23 

poem " The Farewell" and most of liis admirable prose 
works, were not composed till tlie beginning of the seven- 
teenth century. 

But though tlic graces and accomplislmients of Ralegh 
might amuse the fancy of Elizabeth, they could not win 
her confidence, which was never thoughtlessly nor indis- 
criminately bestowed. She soon became sensible of the 
acuteness of his understanding, in the progress of a dis- 
pute which was argued between him and Lord Grey, in 
presence of the council. The grounds of this quarrel have 
not transpired, and have been variously represented ; but 
the merits of Ralegh's cause may be implied, from his gain- 
ing a decision in ins favor against tlie veteran soldier and 
statesman. 

This circumstance made a great impression upon the 
public, who probably expected a different result : but merit, 
at courts, without patronage, resembles a line plant in an 
ungenial soil. Yet were there some generous spirits who 
prized Ralegh's attainments, and sought to make others 
prize them also ; such was Sir Philip Sidney, the first Eng- 
lish commoner that ever received the ofter of a foreign 
crown. But that he was calculated to ascend tlie throne 
of Poland was scarcely more honorable to him, than the 
distinction accorded unanimously by his contemporaries, as 
the pattern of English gentlemen ; the soldier perfected 
into a hero by Christian principles, which men in those 
times, and indeed in latter days, have strangely thought 
incompatible with warlike pursuits. 

-More favored by the circumstances of his birth than Ra- 
legh, so far as advancement at court was concerned, Sid- 
ney had received an education somewhat similar to tliat 
of his friend, had passed through the same scenes, and had 
participated in the same interests. There was, however, a 
wide discrepancy between their fortunes, and tiie apparent 
chance wiiich each possessed of being numbered among 
the fortunate and great of their nation. The father of 
Sidney, the early companion of Edward VI., and succes- 
sively the trusted servant of Queen Mary and of Elizabeth, 
had means of promoting the elevation of his son, of which 
tlic remote situation, and reduced estate, of Ralegh's fa- 
ther, prohibited the expectation. Brought up from his 
cradle to anticipate the patronage of sovereigns, and re- 
ceiving his very Christian name from Philip of Spain, 



34 I.IKK OF Bill WALTER UALECH. 

young Sidney was sent, after college, to perfect his educn- 
lion by intercourse with foreign nations ; but witli difficulty 
escaped the horrors of the massacre of St. Bartlioloniow, 
by taking refuge in tlic liouse of Sir Francis Walsinghani, 
then our ambassador at the court of Cliarles IX. It is not 
improbable, that during this eventful visit to France, his 
intimacy with Ralegh was formed, a tie which was never 
relinquished until annihilated by the early death of 
Sidney. 

Entering thus into life with such unequal prospects of 
success, these highly-gifted youths were, however, en- 
dowed severally witli a proportion of intellectual iwwer, 
which made the balance even. Much may be allowed for 
the necessity for arduous exertion, which in the one case 
might reasonably be supposed to have stimulated a mind 
capable naturally of strong efforts. But the talents of Sir 
Philip Sidney were rather elegant than powerful, and the 
character of his mind that of generous enthusiasm rather 
than of determined perseverance. He was formed, indeed, 
more for the ornament and the idol than tor tlie benefit of 
society, and was more the hero of romance than the bene- 
factor of his country. Nurtured, also, in the bosom of 
prosperity, and having "his fortunes created by his father, 
Sidney had not the patience to brook those irritations, nor 
the art to conceal those natural emotions which are gene- 
rally suppressed at courts. His romance of tlie Arcadia 
was composed, as it is well known, in a season of retirement, 
occasioned by an affront given to his jealous notions of 
honor. That very composition, unduly extolled in his owji 
time and too greatly depreciated in ours, bespeaks a mind 
more replete with poetical associations tlian strong in origi- 
nal genius, or polished by sedulous culture. 

Endowed, however, with enough of Ralegh's spirit and 
utlaininoiits to prize and to comprehend him ; and display- 
ing an exemption from the meaner passions, and a degree 
of disinterestedness which rendered him, in a moral point 
of view, far superior to his friend ; Sidney jwssesscd means 
and opportunities of assisting his young associate in his 
progress to fame ; and he is supposed to have generously 
availed himself of them by introducing him to tlie Earl of 
Leicester, uncle, on the maternal side, to Sidney.* The 

• Sir Ilniiry Siiliipy murried Mary, eldest daughter of John Dudley 
Diiku u( IVorlhiiiiilxTland. 



UKR OF Silt WAI.rr.K ItAI.WJII. *25 

j>ersonal credit of Sidnoy was nt tliis time great with Eliz- 
abeth, but his influence tlu-ou<Th Jjeicester was still more 
considerable. Nnvor wore tiicre cluiracters so dissimilar, 
as those of the uncle and nopiiew, who were united, not 
only by ties of consannuinity, but by un affectionate confi- 
dence on the part of 8idnej', whose spirited work in de- 
fence of his relative against the libel entitled Leicester's 
Commonwealth, was both an acceptable tribute to the carl, 
and a proof of Sidney's devotion to that nobleman. 

'J'lie empire of Leicester at court was, at this time, gene- 
rally considered ns indisputable. The oliject rather of 
JClizabcth's passionate admiration than of her affection, 
Leicester had long held an im])iirious sway over tlie pri- 
vate regards of that princess. Her attachment to him has 
been a subject of wonder to contemporaries and to jx)s- 
terity. His merits as a statesman and commander were 
doubtful, his crimes were more than suspected.* Unhap- 

♦ His giiilt, wiUi repaid to tlic d<'>'>'li "1" Amy Ilohsurt, his wife, was 
.so gLMK-rally buliuved, tliat a tiiiivorsnl sciiRiitidii of horror attended tht; 
)iruachiiig of her fuiicrnl s«?riiioii ut Oxford, by one of Leicester's chHp- 
Inins, who, instead of saying as he intended, "this lady so pitifully 
killed," slip[>cd out the word " murdered," a mistake which ronfirmed 
the general opinion, ami that her fulling tlown the stairs of Cuninor 
llall " without hurting of her hood," was not accidcntnl.— See Osborne's 
Trail. Memoirs ofQnrcn Klizabcth. vol. ISS. note. 

This lady, Amy Uobsart, was th(! duughlor of Sir John R^llsart, and 
was a great heiress. Her death happened in J-'JOO, at a period when he 
was thought likely to aspire t<i the favor of two i|ucens, Mary of Scots 
and Rli/.abeth. lly the inquest held upon her body, John Walpole, Esq., 
anci^stor to the earl of Walpole, was found to be the rightful heir to her 
estate. Those who are curious to know more of her mysterious history 
should consult Aubrey's Antiquities of Berkshire, vol. i. p. 141), from 
which Osborne has probably borrowed the foregoing anecdote. 

This unfortunate lady was not, perhaiw, the most to be pitied of Lei- 
cester's victims. Sir Walter Scott has blended into his admirable, but 
heart-rending, novel of Kenilworth. her story with that of Douglas How- 
ard, Lady Sheflield, whose first husband died suddenly of a severe cold, 
called by the scandalous " Leicester's rheum." 'i'his lady bore lieicester 
a son and a daughter, but he sedulously kept their supposed murriugc a 
secret, allowing her, at the same time, to be serve<l as a countess in her 
chamber, and subscribing himself her "loving husband." After this, 
when he publicly married the rounlcss dow ngir of I'sse.x (whose husband 
it was reported he had also poisimcil), Iliese two l.(die.s were styled Lord 
l.icicester'8 two "testaments," Lady Shdiield being the old, and Lady 
Kssex the new. His first wife still asserting her claims, he had an in- 
terview with her in an arbor in Greenwich Uardens, where, in the pres- 
ence of wituesses, he ofteied her X'700 a-year to desist from her iittacks ; 
but she still persisting, he carried his vengeance upon her so far, she 
wag obliged fur protection to accept the hand of Sir Kdward Stafford ; 
otieringas an exciice fur this virtual renunciation of her claims, that 
shi,' had had potions given her which took away her hair and nails. 
{Biegrttpiia, art. Dudley.) With all this. I/eicester as.uunied the air of a 



20 LIKE OF SIK WALTER RALEGH. 

pily fur his country, his brilliant career had obliterated the 
iniproseion which his dark deeds hn<l made upon the public 
mind, nnd ha<l silenced flie imputations of covvurdice some- 
tunes cast upon him. Yet, in the lani^uajjc of one who 
personally knew him, Leicester was esteemed to be " more 
of Mercury than of Mars ;"* and while the j)artiality of 
Elizabetii mduced her to intrust him witli conuuissions of 
tlic greatest importance, lie never had the confidence of 
the people.-j- It is doubtful whetlier he also possessed the 
rosp(>ct (»f Kli/alieth in so jjreat a degree as her conduct 
towards him seemed to imply. Her infatuation for him 
was devoid of tliat delicate :uid contidiiiij attachment 
which alone can give stability to such ties. This was ajv 
parent atler his death, when, with an avidity natural to 
lier coarse mind, she seized upon a portion of his goods, 
which were oflered to public sale, in order to repay herself 
for some debt due to her from the deceased nobleman.J 
While to the world she appeared wholly devoted to Lei- 
cester, it is probable tliat tlic earl, who knew the female 
character well, may have been conscious of tlie insecurity 
of his station in her regard, and of the hoUowness of that 
affection which followed him not to the tomb. This secret 
perception rendered him peculiarly sensible to the dread 
of rivalship. When Ralegh first appeared at court, the 
gleams of royal Itivor were sonietitnes supposed to fall 
abundantly uiion tlic avowed enemy of Leicester, Hunstlon, 
carl of Sussex, a stout English peer, whose influence over 
Elizabeth showed how often the same character may be 
acted ujMin by qualities totally opposite : ti)r Sussex was 
lionest, and therefore fearless, proud of his relationship to 
the queen, and of his descent from a long lino of illustrious 
Fitzwalters ; and on tliat account more acceptable to the 

f»eople than Leicester, whose lineage recalled the recol- 
oction of the Dudley, the detested agent of Henry the 
Seventh. Too unguarded for a courtier, and too unbend- 
ing for a favorite, Sussex felt all his life tlic ascendency of 



Buint. " I never," says Naunton, " saw letters more seeming religious 
timii Ilia." 

* Nnuiiton's Regalia, p. 14. 

t The tliplomatic corps ought to lie niurli indcbto'I to him, as having 
iK't-n the lirst to assume, wlien antbaFsndor in the Low Countries, l\\e 
high sounding title of" E.\ccllency." — Biovrnpliia, note. 

I Notd in Hume, 8vo. vol. v p 317. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 27 

I,eicc6tor, and oil his death-beil, bade his fricnda beware 
of " the Gipsy ;" a name which he had given to the carl, 
and then cstecineJ to be one of peculiar opprobrium* : so 
equally poised, indeed, was the apparent influence which 
Leicester and Sussex were supposed to iwsscss at court, 
that the introduction of Ralcsrh to the especial notice of 
the queen has been attributed to both these noblemen. It 
was not, however, long, before Leicester began to dread 
his advances, and determined to oppose his career by the 
introduction of a new rival. This was Rt>bert Dcveroux, 
carl of I'lssex, a man far inferior to Ralegh in natural abili- 
ties, and m cultivation of mind ; but gitlcd with disposi- 
tions far too generous and noble lor tl\c part which he liad to 
perform in lite. Various circumstiinccs conspired to estab- 
lish Essex as the idol of the people, and of his sovereign ; 
and Ralegh found it, jxirhaps,- difficult to forgive tlic suc- 
cess which frustrated his own rise to greatnesa Yet, 
whilst tJic prosperity of Ralegh was less dazzling, it was 
more secure than that of tiie unfortunate Essex. Sincere 
and well-intentioned, yet vain, presumptuous, and scIP- 
willed, the faults of filssex operated chiefly to his own in- 
jury, and even his virtues appeared to add to the dangers 
by which he was surrounded. Ilis popularity was greater 
than that of any British nobleman of his time, and was the 
source of much ill-will towards him, on the part of many 
of his equals ; Ralegh, on the other hand, eitJier avoided 
public applause, as dangerous, or disregarded it as unim- 
portant. " Seek not to be Essex, shun to be Ralegli," was 
tiie wise counsel of the elder Ix)rd Burleigh to his son; 
thus designating those persons as representing the two ex- 
tremes of popularity and of public aversion. Yet Essex and 
Ralegh botii died ujxjn a scaflbld : so difficult is it to steer 
clear of the quicksands on which despotism hurries its 
victims. 

In 1583, Ralegh was employed by Queen Elizabeth to 
attend Simier, the agent of the Duke of Anjou, in his ad- 
dresses to i']lizabeth,on his return to R-ance ; and afterwards 
to attend the duke to Antwerp.f The Queen accompanied 
her foreign suitor as far as Canterbury, and commanded 
certain of her nobility to continue their attendance uiwn 
the Duke, until they reached the Netlierlands.} It haa 



• IVaunton, |). 15. tCayley, i p. 43. J Camden's Eliz. 212. 



28 LIFK OF SIR WALTJER RALEGH. 

been asserted, m the famous work entitled Leicester's 
Commonwealth, tliat the Earl, to revenge himself on Si- 
mier for tlie discovery of his jnarriaafe lo Queen Elizabetli, 
employed pirates to sink tlie Frenchman and his compan- 
ions at sea, but Uiat tliey were prevented by some English 
vessels. If Uiis assertion were true, Ilalegh must have 
sluu-etl in the perils tlms prepared for Simier.* 

Dissatisfied, jirobably witJi tJie routine of a courtier's 
life, and aware tluit his real credit was best to be proiuotcd 
by exertion, Ralegh soon evinced impatience to be again 
in actfon; luid resolved to make a second voyage to JNcw- 
foundland, in conjunction wiUi Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 
which his personal services should be employed. With 
tliis intention, he built a ship of two hundred tons ; named 
it tlie Bark Ralegh; equipped it for thevoyage, in whicii 
he purposeil acting as vico-admiral ; Sir Humphrey being 
tlie general of the expedition. Tliis respected commander 
was, in fact, tJie very soul of the undertaJdng, wliich, by 
liis credit alone, received contributions of ships, n\en, jmd 
money, from new adventurers in tlie voyage to Newfouiid- 
land. Encoura^^ed by the assistance of his friends, Sir 
Humphrey was assureil silso of the Queen's regard, by her 
presenting him, as a token of her approbation, with a small 
anchor of beaten gold, witli a large pearl at tlie pealt, an 
ornament which he wore ever afterwards at his breast. In 
the patent which Her Majesty harl granted to him for the 
discovery of foreign parts, a clause was inserted, by which 
it was rendered voitl if, at tlie end of si.x years, no new 
possession were gained.f It was tlierefore of import:uice, 
tliat no unnecessary delay should impede the departure of 
Sir Humphrey and his associates for those remote regions, 
wiiich they fondly hoped to add to the British colonies. 

Tiie tleet assembled, uixin tliis occasion, consisted of 
live sail, and tlie united ollicers and crews lunounted to 
two hundred and sixty men. Among tliese were artificers 
of every kind, besides miners and gold refiners; nor were 
they, according to the account of Captain Hayes, of all tlic 
commajiders tlie only one who returned from Newfuuiid- 
land to relate the s»ul disasters of this fatal voyage, desti- 
tute of "Alusike in good variety: not omitting the least 
toyes, as Morris dancers, hobby-horse, and day-like con- 



♦ ("Hiivl. yesr UW>. t "if'S ="'• Oil'fft. 



LIFE OF SIR WAM ER RALEGH. 29 

ceits, to delight the savage people, -whom we intended to 
winnc by all fair means possible."* 

The Bark Ralegh, which was the largest vessel of tlie 
expedition, set sail from Plymouth on the 11th of June, 
1583, but had not been many days at sea, before it , cqo 
was discovered that a contagious fever had seized 
the whole crew ; and Ralegh, with its captain and crew, 
were obliged to return to harbor. Providence appears, 
however, in this event, to have aflbrded peculiar protection 
to the ship, and to its commander. Ralegh had indeed the 
mortification of leaving Sir Humphrey Gilbert to finish the 
enterprise without him. That gallant officer reached 
Newfoundland, of which, by the usual form of digging up 
a turf, and receiving it with a hazel wand, he took posses- 
sion, in right of the discovery made by Cabot : planted the 
first British colony there, discovered a silver mine, divided 
some portion of the lands among his followers, and began 
his voyage home, in the joyful expectation of further en- 
couragement from Queen Elizabeth.f But this brave man 
was destined never to return to his native country. The 
ship in which he had stored the silver ore, which he de- 
signed to show as a specimen, was lost ; and, before he had 
passed the Azores, tempestuous weather and terrible seas 
sank the spirits of the sailors, who, in the true spirit of the 
superstitious fears to which they are prone, reported that 
they had heard strange voices in the night, scaring them 
from the helm. Even the principal officers were alarmed 
for the safety of Sir Humphrey, who had imprudently 
chosen to sail in the Squirrel, a small frigate. In vain did 
his friends entreat him to change his vessel, and to come 
on board the Hinde, the largest ship of the squadron. 
The honor of the dauntless Sir Gilbert had, unhappily, 
been touched by the imputation of cowardice, a report 
false, as it was cruel. He persisted therefore in remaining 
at his post, saying, " I will not desert my little company, 
with whom I have passed so many storms and perils ;" nor 
would lie remain on board the Hinde, except for a short 
time, for the purpose of a convivial meeting with the offi- 
cers, their last interview ; and they parted, agreeing that 
all the captains should give orders to hang out lights at 

* Hakluyt, iii. 149. 

t Hakluyt'g Voyages, folio 159 ; also Camden, Eliz. 402. . 

C2 



30 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

niglit. Meanwhile tlie dangers tJiickeiicd; the oldest 
mariners declared tlint tJiey Imd never witnessed such 
seas : the winds ciiansfing incessjuitly, the waves, in the 
simple lajigua<je ot" a spectator, " breaking higli, luid pyra- 
niid-wiso." The hearts ot" tlic most couriigeons were ap- 
ixilied by a meteor, common in storms, which tlie seamen 
consider to be an apparition of filial import, and Avhich 
tJiey call " Castor and Pollux." Once, tlie anxious com- 
pany of the llinde beheld the irigate nearly cast away; 
tJjcn n^in it approached tliom, and they saw Sir Hum- 
phrey sitting on tl\o mainmast, with a book in his liimd, ex- 
claiming, us lie regarded his comjwnions in distress, " We 
are as near heaven by water as by land." Suddenly the 
liglits were extingnisiied ; those who kept watch cried 
aloud that all was over, and, in the morning, tJie frigate 
was l)eheld no more.* Thus dieil one, who was a loss, not 
only to the active service of his comitry, but to the inter- 
ests of nautical science. His principal work, " A Discourse 
to prove the Existence of a I'assagfe by tlie north-west, to 
Cathaia and the East Indies," is written, according to the 
opinion of competent judges, witli accuracy, perspicuity, 
Riul arrmigemeut In imothor treatise, ho suggested the 
invention of a spherical instrument., for the better know- 
ledge of tlie longitude, and amendeil the usual errors of Sea- 
cards.^ But he has been erroneously confounded with his 
namesake. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who, in the reign of 
Henry the Seventh, made several voya^fes of discovery, 
pinjected the passag'o of Cathaia, and made many valuable 
maps and charts, which were long preserved in Wliitc- 
holl.t 

Tlie pursuits, acquirements, and principles of action of 
Sir Humphrey, may be presumed to have been imitated by 
his young relative, llalegh, who improved ujxm his schemes, 
and in many respects seems to have imbibotl his sentiments. 
It was not only the precept of Sir Humphrey, but his rule 
of conductT " That he is not worthy to live at all, who, ttir 
fear or danger of death, shunneth his country's service, or 
his own honor ; tor death is inevitable, and fiuiie immortal." 
In consonance with this noble maxim, but exercising it 
jK-rhaps too rigidly, he }>erislied. 

♦ See Mr. Edwnrd Hayes' nairativp, Hakluyt, vol. iii. H3 to 159. 

t Note in Bioginpljin. J Note in Oldys. p. ihJ. 



LIFK OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 31 

The details of the voyaofo were bron<;lit home by the 
captain of the Iliiule, wliicli readied En"^land in safety; 
but Ralegh, though grieved at the loss ot his friend and 
associate, lost no time in forniinor schemes for a fresh un- 
dertaking ; and, in consequence of a representation which 
lie laid before the Queen and council, he obtained letters 
patent, empowering him to "discover such remote, heathen, 
and barbarous lands as were not actually possessed by any 
Christian, nor inhabited by any Christian people." So in- 
distinct were the notions which even the most cultivated 
minds, in this country, at that time, entertained of geogra- 
phy, that, in this and in some other patents of that period, 
there was neither mention of any particular part of the 
globe, nor of any latitude or longitude fixed for tlie planta- 
tion proposed.* 

That the entire merit of tliis project is due to Ralegh, is 
a matter of considerable doubt, in conjunction with Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert, he has the meritof being the first Eng- 
lish adventurer that took out men as settlers to foreign re- 
gions ; but it has been su])posed, with some appearance ofi 
probability, that Sir Humphrey's first expedition was di- 
rected to that particular territory which received the name 
of Virginia. For, in the house of Ralegh Gilbert, the son 
of the untbrtunate general, was a picture conjectured to 
have been intended for Sir Humphrey, holding in one hand 
a general's staff", and resting the other upon a globe, with 
the word Virginia inscribed on it, whilst the noted golden 
anchor is seen suspended from his dress.f It has been 
also surmised, that the name of Virginia was applied to 
that country some years previous to the enterprise for 
which Ralegh obtained letters patent. It is evident tliat 
the plan had been a considerable time in agitation, from 
the promptitude with which Ralegh began it; a degree of 
dispatch which it would have been scarcely possible to 
have adopted, in a novel and undigested scheme. 

It is said that the favorite studios of Ralegh's youtli, 
were the discoveries of Columbus, and the histories of the 
conquests of Pizarro, Fernando Cortes, and of otlier Span- 
ish adventurers in the reign of Charles V.f With this pe- 
culiar direction of his ideas and hopes, it might almost 

* Anderson's History orConnnerce, vol. ii. p. 158. 

t See note, Oldys, answered in Biographia, art. Gilbcil J Oldys, 22. 



32 LIFE OF SIU WALTER RALEGH. 

liave been expected, that ho would have sought a personal 
particiiHition in those exertions which his enthusiastic tem- 
per might consider as certain to lead to glory. But the 
recent deatli of his relation, and tlie variety of his civil oc- 
cupations, together witli his present want of experience in 
navigation, account for his intrusting his arduous specula- 
tions in otlicr hands. 

TJic project was eminently successful. Ralegh had as- 
certained from pilots and otlier seamen who had sailed in 
Spanish vessels to Mexico, that, on returning, as tliey 
usually did, by tlie Ilavannah and tlie Gulf of Florida, a 
continued coast on tlie nortli-wcst had been observed : and, 
a<l(ling to this information the fact, tliat tlio Spaniards had 
hitlicrto settled only on tlie middle and southern parts of 
America, he formed tlie natural conclusion tliat tliere were 
yet vast tracts to the north undiscovered. We all know 
tJiat his conjecture was true to a much greater extent tlian 
ho probably conceived. 

The risk on this scheme was entirely his own : he fitted 
.out two vessels, and intrusting them to the charge of able 
conunanders, dispatched tliem by the Canaries and West 
Indies, then tlie usual route to North America, The two 
captains, after a passage of more tlian two months, reached 
tlie Gulf of Florida ; and, landing on the island of Woko- 
ken, took formal possession in the name of tiieir Queen : 
and making acquaintance with the natives of that region, 
brouglit two of tliem back to England. On their return, 
tlioy imparted so favorable a report of tJie climate and soil, 
tliat Elizabeth was induced to listen to tlie plan of settling 
a colony tiioro ; and llalegh was commanded to name tlie 
new ac(iuisition Virginia, in honor of his s<ivercign. This 
appellation was since given to all tiie coasts of North 
America upon which the English afterwards colonized. 
Tlie iKirt discovered by Ralegh is now called Carolina,* 

By various successive vcyagos under Adrian Gilbert and 
Sir Riciiard Grenvillc, the fame of Ralegh's discovery of 
Virginia was kept alive in the public mind ; and, at length, 
a colony of a hundred and seven persons, among whom was 
Herriot tlie mathematician, was established at Roanok, in 
Virginia. Shortly afterwards, Ralegh, having joined the 
celelirated Davis luid other public-spirited j)ursons, in an 

* Stcvciison'8 Historical Sketch of lliu Progress of Discovery, p. 356. 



MFK OF SIR VVAI/I'KK IIAI.IXJII 33 

association for the <liscovory of tlie north-west pa.s«ii>-e t<j 
China, he Jiad tlie }ro(Hl fortune to be coneorned in tiie 
inveetifjation of Davis' Straits ; and JVIount Rak'<rh, near 
that important cliannol, was named Ui? a tribute of respect 
to liim."' 

lliiloirK was now in the zenitli of iiis prosperit}-. His first 
expedition to Viri>iiiia wtus rewardtHJ by kniojithood, a dis- 
tinition which Khzabetii prized so liiiifldy, that when im- 
portuned to raise one of lier courtiers from a kni<:;lit to a 
baron, siio deckired tliat slu; " tliouijlit iiim above it 
already."! l^icli prizes and important captures were car- 
ried liome in trium])h by his privateers ; and liad Rak><vii's 
cliief desire been wealth, it miijht have betni abundantly 
gratitied. To crown his felicity, lie had the frnitification 
of seeinpi' his honors bloom around him in his native soil, 
whence he had passed into the busy world, to create his 
own tbrtuncs. lie was chosen, in 1584, to reitresent the 
county of Devon in parliament; and subse<[uently appointed 
seneschal of the duchies of (/ornwall and Devon, and , ^^p 
Lord Warden of the Stannaries. The Queen, also, ' 

Ijranted him the ])rivilei;et)f licensinj^" the vendino- of wines 
throujifhout tlu; kinufdom, — a very lucrative otHce, wliicli it 
was not thouoht incompatible with the hiojiest rank to exer- 
cise. And as riches and honors are apt to tak(^ wini;s and 
fly away, the Ciueen pfave him a less perishable pre.s(>nt in 
a portion of the land forfeited in Cork and Watertord, 
durinjj the rebellion recently suppressed in Munster. This 
estate, e.xtendinjj over twelve thousand acres, was ])ianted 
by Raleafh ; but not being- (itted for his own residence, was 
sold to Richard IJoyle, at^erwards I'larl of Cork. 'J'hus 
Ralejjh, like most of Elizabeth's favorites, was rewardiul 
without the sli<jhtest encroaclnnent either upon the ex- 
chequer or tlic queen's privy purse. It is highly to his 
credit that he subsequently freely bestowed ui)on liis coun- 
try what he had diligently gained in her service. 

Ralegh had, during this period of his life, intervals of 
repose, in which he proved that no patronage was necessary 
to raise him to tiime. Among' the most prominent qualities 
of jiis mind was application ; by this he was enabled to im- 
prove the limited portion of tinie which ho could allot to 

* nirch, vol. i. 14. 

t Osborn's Tradititinnl Memoirs of (iuccn Eli/.tibulli. \ ul, i. j>. 8i. 



34 LIFE OF SIR VVALTEIi RALEGH. 

general studies, so as to become one of the most elegant 
and powerful writers, one of the most philosophical and 
diliii;ent historians of liis country. To readinnf, Riilegh 
assigned four hours only ; to sleep, five ; allowing the re- 
mainder of his day to business ; reserving, liowever, two 
hours for rela.xation and discourse, being aware how salu- 
tary, if not essential to tiie mind, is tliat recreation wliicli 
refreshes witliout enervating the intellectual system. In 
this systematic arrajigement, he found time to cultivate the 
fine arts. In nuisic lie was a proficient ; ajid to painting 
he showed his partiality by a liberal jmtronage.* In ora- 
tory Ralegli also excelled ; so tJiat neitlier the originality 
of Ills ideas, nor tlie depth of liis knowledge, were con- 
cealed by a tame or imperfect mode of convcjing tlieni to 
otJicrs. To extend to all, tlie advantages which he himself 
enjoyed, was a favorite scheme of this great man ; and 
with a view to promote tlie circulation of knowledge, he 
set up on office of address, to which the industrious and 
curious might apply for hiformation of every species. Of 
this institution little has transpired, except a passagt iVom 
the pen of tlie celebrated Eveljii. In a letter to the Earl 
of Clarendon, he remarks upon " tliat long-dried fountain 
of communication, which Montaigne first proposed. Sir 
Walter Ralegh put in practice, and Mr. Ileartlib endeavored 
to revive." The plan suggested by ]\Iontaigne was, to 
have an office of inquiry in every town, in which persons 
might register the kinds of information whicli tliey wislied 
to jxissess, and their terms for obtaining it. 

Consistent witli such labors as tliese was the laudable 
determination evinced by Ralegh to encourage and exalt 
those persons of merit whose station or circumstajices 
precluded their rising, unassisted, to distinction. He sup- 
ported Morgues, an eminent French painter, during his 
residence in England for the purpose of making majis and 
drawings of Florida. He was the friend and coadjutor of 
Ricliard Hakluyt In tliis industrious compiler Ralegh, in- 
deed, found one of those indefatigable enthusiasts who, like 
the astonishing Leland, seem born to perpetuate the la- 
bors, and to transmit to jx)sterity tlie lame, of otliers. It is 
a well-known fact, tliat he once rode two hundred miles 



* Oldy'8 Life of Ralegh, p. 48. 



MPE OF SIR WALTER RALEOft. 35 

to tjain from an oyc-\vilness the particulars of an inifortu- 
nafe expedition to Newfoundland, in the time of Henry 
the Eighth ; an account of which he has published in his 
collection of voyages. It was the incessant endeavor of 
Hakluyt, not only to preserve the histories of recent voyages, 
but to rescue our naval antiquities from the dilapidations of 
time : nor could the prospect of rising in the clerical pro- 
fession, of which he was a member, induce him to desert 
his favorite topic for those more closely connected with his 
spiritual vocation. He spared neither labor nor expense in 
pursuit of that knowledge which he desired to withdraw 
from oblivion ; rescued from destruction, and transcribed 
many ancient manuscripts of patents, privileges, and let- 
ters ; consulted many libraries, and culled information from 
every source, both oral and written, which he could possi- 
bly discover. 

In tliese erudite investigations Ralegh, in many in- 
stances, became a liberal and effective assistant. He lent 
his aid to Hakluyt, to enable hun to publisli his collection 
of English voyages. Hakluyt, in gratitude, dedicated to 
Ralegh several of those works, the important value of 
which consists in their being compiled from letters and 
other authentic sources, not to mention the constant com- 
munication which their collector maintained with mari- 
ners in all quarters. From the last untbrtunate voyage to 
Newfoundland, Hakluyt, who had some intention of join- 
ing it, was, like Ralegh, providentially preserved. In or- 
der to give his sanction, and a greater degree of credit, to 
the collection of English voyages, Ralegh appointed Hak- 
luyt one of the corporation of counsellors, to whom, in 
1588, he assigned his patent for the prosecution of the 
North Amei"ican discoveries.* These mutual services 
were of great benefit to the progress of maritime investi- 
gations, and redounded to the honor of both. The adven- 
turers in perilous enterprise knew that their daring ex- 
ploits might be raised into importance, and rescued from 
obscurity^ by the efforts of so faithful and learned a pre- 
server of their transactions as Hakluyt ; and thus the de- 
sire for discovery received a fresh stimulus. Hakluyt was 
rewarded in the manner which he best loved, and had a 
river and a promontory in Greenland named after him, 

♦ niog. nrt. Ilakliiyt. 



3G' LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

which are still called by his name. Hakluyt was in good 
circumstances, and required rather the countenance and 
assistance of Ralegh than pecuniary aid. In Thomas Ilor- 
riot, a man of obscure birtli and humble fortunes, Ralegh 
found, however, an object to whom his bounty wns impor- 
tant. Hcrriot was the centre of a little circle of mathe- 
maticians, ingenious, but at that tune speculative men, 
whose pursuits had, at no very remote period, been not 
unfrcqucntly confounded with necromancy.* To persons 
of scientitic pursuits, tJie protection of some liberal patron 
was, therefore, in those days, peculiarly advantageous. 
Ralegh received Herriot into his house, paid him a yearly 
pension, and was instructed by him in tJie science which 
he professed, and which, at tliat time, was not considered 
as the essential basis of a liberal education, but which was 
])robably, in a great measure, the foundation of Ralegh's 
acquirements and science. At a subsequent period, Ralegh 
promoted tiie interests of his tutor, by introducing him to 
Henry Earl of Nortlumiberland, who, from his love for 
mathematics, acquired the name of ^enry the Wizardf ; 
and when that accomplished nobleman was confined in tiie 
Tower lor life, upon suspicion of being concerned in the 
gunjiowder treason, Herriot shared his imprisonment, in 
company 'with two other mathematicians, Warner and 
Hues. These men had a table at the Earl's charge, and 
were called his Magi.J Herriot was the inventor of the way 
of notation, since universally used in algebra, and of many 
improvements in that science, the honor of which was for 
many years attributed to Des Cartes. Ralegh availed 
himself of his learning and assiduity, in employing him to 
settle the colony at Virginia, whither he sent him in 1584, 
tmdcr Sir Richard Greenville, with instructions to draw 
up and publish a topography of the country, which was 
pul)lishod in 1588-5 it has been supjwsed that Herriot 
implanted in the minds of both his patrons principles of 
deism ; and the cruel disorder, a cancer of the lip, of which 
he died, was imputed, by the churchmen of the day, to a 
judgment of Providence. It is not difficult to defend both 
Ralegh and liis master from this charge. Herriot is said 

• See iMonteil des Francaisdes divers Etats, loin, premier, p. 17. 

t Fuller's VVdrtliies.—Colliiis's Peerage, ii. p. 433. 

} Wood, vol. i. p. 459. § Biograpliia. 



I.trP. op SIR WALTER RALEGH. 37 

to have doubted the autlieiitioity of the Mosaic account of 
the creation, and to Iiave rcjinted many parts of the Old 
Testament. From tliis incredulity, which has, even in 
more enlightoncd day--^, been unhappily observed in learned 
and pious men, he was inferred to be a Deist* : yet he 
diligently endeavored to instil the ^loctrines of Christianity 
mto the minds of tli^ natives of Virginia; and it is far 
more common for those who profess relio^ious faith to 
Bwerve from their tenets in practice, tlian it is for those 
who broach sentiments of infidelity to perform actions 
worthy of Christian motives. We cannot be far wrong, if 
we allow to those who seek to promote the cause of Reli- 
gion, some personal knowledge of her benignant influence. 
With regard to Ralegh, innumerable passages in his 
works; his advice to his son, his splendid conclusion to his 
History of the World, and many other parts of that pro- 
duction, show a mind chastened and elevated by devotional 
feelings. It must, however, be granted, that these were 
the sentiments of his declining age, and it is possible that, 
in youth, his mind may have been less settled in points of 
faith. The slightest acknowledgment of a doubt, or even 
the shadow of an innovation upon the pale of orthodoxy, 
was, in those days, sufficient to affix a mark of reproach 
which it was difficult to remove. " Ralegli was the first," 
remarks a writer of the age, " tliat ventured to tack about, 
and to sail aloof from the beaten track of the schools ; and 
who, uj)on tiie discovery of so apparent an error as the tor- 
rid zone, intended to proceed in an inquisition after more 
solid truths ; till the mediation of some, whose hardihood 
in hammering slirines for this superannuated study, pos- 
sessed Queen Elizabeth that such doctrine was against 
Go<l, or her father's honor, whose faith (if he owned any) 
was grounded upon school divinity : whereupon she chid 
him, who was (by his own confession) afterwards branded 
by the title of an Atheist, though a known asserter of God 
and Providence."t 

* Wood's Allien., fol. p. 459. 

t Osborn's Miscellany of Sunday Essays, i2mo. vol. i. p. 722. 



D 



38 LIFE OP SIR WALTKU RALEGH. 



CHAP. II. 

Favor of Ralegli comincnted upon by Tarletnn.— Further undertakings of 
Rolo);li. — Virginia. — Tobacco. — The i:^|mnisli Invasion. — Lord Howard 
of KHinglmni.— KnloRh's share in rt'ix'llinn the Armada. — His visit to 
Iroland.— Spensiir.— Kniegh'g unpopularity ^ith the Clerpy.— Dr. God- 
win. — Udall. — The Urownists. — The Jesuit;!. — rather I'arsons. — Ra- 
Ie>;irs Marriaso.— His Disgrace at Court. — Ilia Voyage to Guiana.— 
Services in tlie Atlantic with Essex. 

IWfi '^"*' ^"^^*^^ wliicli Ralcijh at this time enjoyed at 
court soon became tlie subject of {general remark, 
and was oven noticed upon tlie stage, in siicii plain and 
oHensive terms, that Tarleton, the most pojjular actor of 
tlie ilay, when playin<j Ijeforo tiie Queen, pointed towards 
llaloi;h and said, "fc?ee liow tlie knave commands tlie 
Queen !" Elizabeth reproved him with a frown, and ban- 
ished him the royal presence, thus sacrilicinir her amuse- 
ment to her iiulis;nation : yet, the audacious jilayer had the 
assurance to add, that " Raleoh was of too much and too 
intolerable a ixnver;" a remark which mijrht, perhaps, 
liave been pardoned, iiad he not persisted in liis observa- 
tions, and extinuied them to the Earl of Leicester, his 
riches and •freatne.^s.'*' No tlatttM'ino' invitations to tiie in- 
dolence of a courtier's life could, however, deter Raleijh 
from prosecutino; those imixirtant schemes which he con- 
stiuitly cherished ; and, considerinsj the circmnstances of 
the times, his ambitious and energetic disposition cannot 
be a cause of wonder. 

The reign of Elizabeth was not only marked by achieve- 
ments of the most adventurous and heroic character, but 
by enterprises which retpiired loiio- and patient endurance 
of hardshiins, and a frequent surrender of jirivate interests 
to the accomplishment of a great desiiru. Preceded in the 
period of his luidertakuios by Hawkins and by Drake, 
Raleoh had every inducement in the examples of these 
men, both from the love of gain, and the desire of honor, 
to pursue the course they had followed. The efforts of 
Sir John Hawkins, which were, unhappily, directed to es- 
tablish tlie detestable slave trade, had been rewarded by 
tlie acquisition of immense wcaltli; lie and his brother pos- 

• Cayley, 1. note 80 ; from Bobun's Character of Queen Elizabeth. 



MPE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 39 

sessing', in conjunction, thirty ships of the lino ;* yet lie 
was, eventually, luitbrtunatc, and died, soon afterwards, of 
a broken heart, in conscciuonce of the failure of an enter- 
prise in which he had hojjetl to ransom his son, a prisoner. 
Drake was still in the full enjoyment of a reputation, 
wliich, while the brave mifijht envy, the virtuous must ap- 
prove. It was his principle of action, in the expeditions 
which he conducted, and which were frequently carried 
on at the expense of individuals, to rec^ard the service of 
his country hrst ; ne.xt the advantajje of his proprietors ; 
and lastly, his own interests. His benevolence was com- 
mendable, and led him to assist Hawkins in the institution 
of the Cliest, at Chatham ; a sort of savine^ bank in which 
sailors mitrht deposit their earnmgs, to tbrm a fund ibr tliu 
sick and wounded. 

Incited by the fame of these jjroat men, Ralegh devoted 
a considerable portion of his fortunes to the increase and 
maintenance of his colony in Virijinia, and sent repeated 
expeditions to that country, under the connnand of Sir 
Richard Greenville. But the sciiemcs whicli he endeav- 
ored to promote required more anijile i'unds than ho pos- 
sessed, and a far more liberal patroness than ]*jlizabcth. 
lie found it advisable, however, in 1584, to reinforce the 
colony by the addition of a governor, and of a hundred and 
fitleen persons, with instructions to build a fort in the Hay 
of Chesapeak. The new settlers found that tiioir prede- 
cessors had been, for the most part, nuirdered by the na- 
tives; yet, notwithstanding this discouraging state of af- 
fairs, they contrived to re-establish a friendly looting, and 
resolved to replant themselves upon the vacant territory. 
They considered it essential, for tiiis purpose, to dispatch 
one of their party to England for a fresii supply of the ne- 
cessaries of life ; and the office was undertaken by their 
governor, who returned with the ships towards the latter 
end of the same year in which he had set out for Virginia. 

Never was there a more unfortunate juncture, tor the 
formation of a colony, than that in which the governor of 
Virginia found the affiiirs of England on his arrival. 
Elizabeth, was, now, engaged in hostilities against Spain ; 
and so much risk was hazarded upon the issue of the con- 
test, tliat, in the words of the King of Sweden, she seemed 

♦ CaniplK'll's lliitish AOiiiirals. 



40 LIFE or SIR WALTBR RALEGH. 

" to have taken tlie diadem from her liead, and to have ad- 
" ventured it upon tlie doubtful chance of war."* All 
lesser considerations were, therefore, disregarded; and 
Virginia, the first settlement of Great Britain in the New 
World, was suffered to languish without protection. Ra- 
legh had prepared several ships to sail from Biddeford, in 
Devon, under the command of the brave and experienced 
Sir Richard Greenville ; but they were retained by order 
of the Queen, and the governor was allowed to sail with 
several small vessels only, with which he was attacked by 
some French ships, and obliged to return to England. It 
is not surprising that, after spending upon this colony forty 
thousand pounds, and sending to its relief four fleets, fur- 
nished at his own expense, unassisted by the Queen, 
whose glory was also concerned in the imdertaking, Ra- 
legh should have assigned his right and title in the settle- 
ment to certain merchants and gentlemen of London ; re- 
serving to himself the fifth part of the gold and silver ore 
found in the territory, contributing a hundred pounds to- 
wards the expenses under its new owners, and promising, 
on all occasions, the further assistance of advice.f But 
Virginia, after all the sums bestowed upon her, and tlie 
valiant lives lost in her behalf, was almost wholly abandon- 
ed during the remainder of Elizabetli's reign. J One fa- 
miliar custom recalls the formation of this colony to hourly 
recollection. It is well known that when Drake, on his 
return from the conquest of St. Domingo and other' West 
Indian islands, visited Virginia, he brought home Lane, 
then governor of the infant colony; and in Lane's ship 
Tobacco was first conveyed to England. The prevalent 
usage of this allurement to indolence soon came into 
vogue ; it was, probably, already familiar by report to the 
English, the Spaniards having discovered the plant in 
Yucatan so early as 1520, and the peculiar use of it for 
smoking being common all over America, at the time of 
the conquest of that country. In the beginning of the 
sixteenth century, it was introduced into Portugal from 
Florida, by Hernandez de Toledo: from Portugal the 
seeds were sent into France, to Catharine de Medicis, by 
Jean Nicot, an agent of Francis the Second ; on which ac- 

* Hume's reign of Elizabeth. t Oldys, p. 49. 

} Aiidorsoii's Hist (ifCommeicc, vol. ii. p. 105. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 41 

count it received its gfeneric name, Nicotiana, the specific 
appellation being derived from Tabac, the name of an in- 
strument used in America for smoking it.* It was first 
grown in England in 1570, and its cultivation was con- 
tinned in Yorkshire until prohibited by statutes: it was 
used both for snuff" and for smoking. Even the ladies, who 
were then so deficient in refinement, that they cannot at 
least be reproached with the practice as an inconsistency, 
indulged in the pleasures of tobacco, being a very proper 
accompaniment to the general coarseness of their habits. 
In France, it was patronized by the great and the gay, un- 
der the name of the " Queen's Herlt;" and in England it 
was allowed oven in the royal presence. Queen Eliza- 
beth was one day so rash as to enter into a wager with the 
subtle Ralegh, against the possibility of his ascertaining 
the weight of the smoke exuding from any given quantity 
of tobacco. Her Majesty regarding the impracticability 
of the perfumed vapor being confined within a scale, was 
confident of her point ; and surmised that Ralegh took a 
traveller's privilege in affirming to the contrary. Ralegh, 
however, outwitted her by weighing the ashes, and Eliza- 
beth was obliged to confess that the difference between 
them and the original weight of tobacco settled the dis- 
puted point : upon which she consoled herself with a witti- 
cism, telling Sir Walter " that she had heard of those who 
"turned their gold into smoke, but had never before seen 
" the man who could turn smoke into gold."-)- In process 
of time, the use of tobacco was considered likely to debase 
the maimers of the people, and to render them barbarofts, 
as " those barbarians from whom its uses were derived."f 
Elizabeth discouraged its unlimited excess ; and her pom- 
pous successor showed his usual mixture of sense and folly 
by his determined and outrageous enmity to it; and al- 
though it was not deemed expedient, from political mo- 
tives, to abolish so great a source of revenue to the crown, 
he satisfied his prejudices and his conceit, by his famous 

♦ In Yucatan, it was called Petun or Pete-ma. Humboldt found two 
species only in South America, the N. lazensis and N. Andicola, which 
prow oil the Andes, that resemble the N. tabacum. Note in Dr. A. T. 
'i'homson's London Dispensatory, 5th edit. p. 445. 

t Oldys, p. Zi. 

X Anglorum corpora in barbarorum naturam dcgenerasse, qtium iidem 
no barbari delcctentur. Camden, 44U. 

D 2 



42 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

work, entitled the " Counterblast to Tobacco ;" but suc- 
ceeded by his power, rather than his wit, in diminishing 
its production, notwitlistanding his description of it, as 
" ioathesome to the eye, hateful! to the sight, harmefuU to 
the orgaine, dangerous to the lungs, and in the blacke 
stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible 
Stygian smoake of the pit that is bottomless."* Such, 
however, is the attachment of all classes of men to any fii- 
vorite habit, tiiat, notwithstanding an enactment of James 
the First, that no Virginian planter should cultivate seve- 
rally more than a lumdred pounds of it, and in the face 
even of papal edicts, tobacco, prized alike by the noble and 
the peasant, has maintained its popularity, although with 
some variations of fashion.f 

iroq The assiduous attention which Ralegh, during 
■ the course of liis life, at intervals, devoted to the 
colonies, was forcibly arrested at home by the pressing oc- 
currences of this year. Already had an ostentatious account 
of the Spanish armada been published at Lisbon ; and every 
circumstance attending this memorable invasion contributed 
to excite the emulation and the exertions of the martial 
portion of the English community. All persons of reflec- 
tion extolled the fortitude of the Queen upon the approach 
of dangers so unusual, and her wisdom in preparing for the 
nation its surest means of defence, in the establishment of 
the navy. Elizabeth had selected from the political con- 
duct of her father one of the worthiest points of imitation, 
when she declared it to be her intention to preserve the 
security of the narrow seas ; inquired into tlie causes of 
the decay in maritime force ; issued orders for the preserva- 
tion of timber ; enjoined the casting of several pieces of 
ordnance ; and in this country the manufacturing of gun- 
powder ; which had hitherto been supplied from the Conti- 
nent. Resolved to afford inducement and importance to 
the nautical profession, she deviated from her usual parsi- 
mony, in ordering the wages of seamen and officers to be 
raised ; she attracted, by rewards and pensions, foreign ar- 
tisans ; and acquired, by these laudable means, tlie praise of 
effecting the restoration of naval power, and of rendering 

* Seo his OoiinterWast to Tobacco; and also a Warrant to Lord Trea^ 
surer Dorset for laying a heavy imposition on it. Oldys. 
t See Appendix, B. 



LIFE OP Sia WALTER RALEGH. 43 

herself sovereign of the narrow seas. Yet Elizabeth, twenty 
years before the Spanish invasion, had but fourteen thousand 
seamen in her service, and was possessed of twenty-four 
ships of war only ; and to her public-spirited and opulent 
subjects was she indebted for many of the vessels with 
which she now prepared to face the enemy.* Amongst 
others, Ralegh was liberal of aifeistance : whilst, through all 
parts of the country, such preparations were made to mus- 
ter and discipline land forcesf , and so noble a spirit was 
manifested, that some persons even doubted the necessity 
of a fleet, and maintained that no invaders could make 
successful inroads into a country thus protected. But 
Ralegh refutes this opinion, in his History of tlie World, 
and proves how much exposed to diversions of the repell- 
ing forces would the invaded English have been, unless 
girded round with naval defence.^ Meanwhile, as a mem- 
ber of the council of war instituted for the occasion, he 
drew up a well-digested scheme for the security of the na- 
tion ; and, in his office of lord-lieutenant for Cornwall, he 
showed his zeal in assembling a militia.^ 

The death of the Marquis Santa Croce, who was destined 
to the command of the Armada, and the subsequent appoint- 
ment of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, revived the courage 
of the English, who justly confided in the abilities and valor 
of their own High Admiral, Lord Howard of Effingham. 
This brave and successful commander, a Roman Catholic, 
fighting against those of his own persuasion in behalf of a 
Protestant Queen, was the son, grandson, and nephew of 
distinguished naval heroes ; his fatlier. Lord William How- 
ard, having held the same post with himself, and his uncles. 
Lord Edmund and Lord Edward Howard, having signal- 
ized their names in the reign of Henry the Eighth. Open, 
sincere, and liberal, he presented a noble contrast to the 
Earl of Leicester, to oppose whose overweening power he 
had, it is thought, been elevated ; and few of Elizabeth's 
appointments had been more acceptable to the people than 
that of Lord Howard to the eminent and perilous station 
which he now held. This general good opinion he fully 

* Campboll's Brit. Adm., vol. i. p. 424. 

t See Queen Elizabeth's Letter to the Marquess of Winchester and the 
Earl of Sussex, in Ellis's Letters, 2d series, iii. 137. 
t Oldys, p. 47. § Ibid. 



44 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH? 

justified. When apprized that the Spanish fleet was about 
to sail, he sailed also, and continued cruising for some time. 
The English government were meantime informed by a 
spy, whom they had placed at Madrid, that in May the 
Spanish fleet was ready, and only waiting for a fair wind 
to sail ; such being the order and secrecy of the expedition, 
that the " lyghtnynge and WUnderclapp, were intended to 
arrive bothe in a moment."* An incident at this critical 
moment shows how fatally Elizabeth's measures might 
have operated, had it not been for the disinterested and de- 
termined character of Howard. The ministry, thinking 
that there was no chance of any attack from the Spaniards 
this year, wrote by Walsingham, to tell him that the ships 
might return into harbor, to save the expense of retain- 
ing them at sea. To this intimation he replied, " that he 
thought differently ; and that if his reasons were deemed 
insufficient, the ships might continue at his own charge." 
Elizabeth afterwards paid an ample tribute to his merits, 
when she said that " he was born to save and to serve liis 
country." 

Lord Howard continued at his arduous station until he 
received intelligence that the Spanish fleet was approach- 
ing, when, in order to get out of Plymouth with such ships 
as he could muster, he not only gave orders in person, but 
worked with his own hands. He sailed the first night with 
six ships only ; but when, at length, the invincible Armada 
advanced slowly up the channel, the noble spirits who had 
remained calmly, yet anxiously, within their respective 
counties, the flower of all the young, and brave, and loyal 
gentlemen of England, as if by one glorious impulse, joined 
as volunteers the brave Howard, with their accumulated 
aid of men and vessels. The movements of tlie Spanish 
fleet were, by a fortunate accident, descried by a Scottish 
pirate, by whom the news of their progress was brought to 
Effingham. The dauntless Admiral Drake was playing at 
bowls upon the Hoe at Plymouth when he heard that the 
Spanish fleet was approaching, but he coolly declared his 
resolution to see the game out before he prepared for com- 



* See Ellis's Letters, vol. iii. p. 134. In the letter from which this 
quotation is made, a curious passage occurs relating to a mysterious 
child, supposed to be the son of the Earl of Leicester and Queen Eliza- 
beth, and said toiliave been born at Hampton Court. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 45 

bat Ralegh, the Cecils, the Earls of Oxford, Northumber- 
land, and Cumberland, Sir Charles Blount, and others, were 
soon in the Downs, with their several contributions to the 
British fleet. Ralegh, with some noblemen on board his 
vessel, saUed fiiU of ardor and impatience to overtake the 
squadron, which he succeeded in reaching near Portland ; 
and he annoyed the enemy with ships tacldng about in a 
manner which it was impracticable for the heavy Spanish 
vessels to imitate. This rencontre was said by Sir Henry 
Wotton to have resembled a " morris-dance upon the wa- 
ter." Thus,- whilst the Armada advanced slowly up the 
channel towards Calais, the English fleet followed and in- 
fested it in the rear, until the enemy cast anchor near Ca- 
lais, in expectation of being joined and assisted by the 
Duke of Parma. This opportunity was, immediately, seized 
by the British admiral for the execution of a stratagem 
suggested by the queen. He caused eight of his weakest 
and smallest ships to be filled with combustibles, and sent 
in the d^ad of the night among the Spaniards, under the 
guidance of two seamen. The Spaniards, mistaking them 
for the same species of fire-ship that had lately done much 
damage in the Schelde, took to flight with great confusion. 
Some of the Spanish vessels were dispersed into the wide 
ocean ; others collected near Gravelines, where they were 
played upon by ordnance from Drake and Femreo, who 
were soon joined by Lord Howard, and other of the princi- 
pal commanders. The Spanish admiral now determined 
upon returning home ; but to avoid contrary winds, and the 
risk of again facing the English, he took his course round 
the island, chased with unabating vigor by the English. It 
was now that Lord Howard felt the insufficiency of the 
ammimition with which the vessels had been supplied. 
From this circumstance, the opportunity which might 
otherwise have been seized, of capturing the whole Span- 
sh fleet, was lost. Yet the ill-fated armada escaped not ; 
out driven by storms to the western coasts of Scotland and 
to Ireland, half of its boasted squadron was wrecked, and the 
surviving crews returned to their native shores only to add 
terror of the English name to the disappointment and mor- 
tification already experienced in Spain.* TJie particular 
share which Ralegh had in the action off Gravelines has 

♦ Camden. 370. Hume, reign Elizabeth. 



46 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

not been stated. His general services in tlie defeat of the 
armada are collected from various parts of his own works, 
and from tlie observations of Von Meteren, in his work 
upon the IjOw Countries. From a passaj^e in his History of 
the World*, it is evident tliat he had made very close and 
able observations upon tlie measures of tliat memorable 
day, and that lie Iiighly approved, from excellent reasons, 
tlie plan pursued by tlie J^ord High Admiral in tlie clioice 
and manarrement of his vessels.f That he participated in 
the ])orils of this battle is, tlicrcfore, evident ; it would 
liave been impossible for liis valiimt spirit to have remained 
inactive in a war justified on the part of England by tlie 
most imperious necessity. By the liappy issue of this 
threatening danger to his country, lljilegh was again at lib- 
erty to engage in some new adventure ; and few of liis un- 
dertakings were commenced witliout some wise and patri- 
otic end in view. His sword was now unsheathed in as- 
sisting Don Antonio, Icing of Portugal, against tlie usurpa- 
tions of the king of Spain ; and, to tliia cause, in which Sir 
Francis Drake and Sir John Norria were joined, Elizabeth 
lent her aid both in ships and money. Ralegh probably attend- 
ed at his own expense, and he reaped tlie fruit of his exer- 
tions by the captu»e of some Spanish vessels laden witli 
1 roQ stores and ammunition, intended as supplies for a 
fresh invasion of England. Historians have, how- 
ever, been silent on the subject of his services on this oc- 
casion ; but in conformity with liis custom of referring to 
most of his military expeditions in his works, he has treated 
of this aflivir, minutely, in his History of tlie World.| 

In returning from Portugal, Ralegh visited Ireland ; at- 
tracted thither partly by a desire of viewing his posses- 
sions in Munster, but chiefly for the purpose of seeing Ed- 
mund Spenser, the celebrated autlior of the Faery Queen. 
With this groat but unfortunate poet Ralegh had become 
acquainted, during his former services in Ireliuid, when 
Spenser liad attended Lord Grey of Wilton, tlien Lord 

♦ fiist. of the World, b. 5. chap. 1. sect. 6. 

t And ill n work which he afterwards published and dedicated to 
Prince Henry, entitled. Observations on the Sea Service, Im remarks 
upon the proportion of ordnance allowed in tlio Bcabattlc in 15S8. 
See Ilircli's edition of Ralegh's works. 

I Fol. b. 5. c. 1. ecct. !>. 



1,1 FE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 47 

Deputy, as his secretary. Descended, like Ralogli, from 
an ancient and lumdrablo family, and allied to many of the 
Eufflisli nobility from iiis rolntionslii]) to the Spcnsers of 
NortiiamptonKliire, but born of inili<>cnt ])aronts, En^numd 
Spenser had been far surpassed by Ralepli in the proij^ress 
to worldly attainments and honors. Wliilst llalej;jh was 
cherished and flattered at court, Spenser was deprived of 
the benefits of royal favor by Lord Burleijrli, who, wiien 
Elizabetii ordered the poet to receive a hundred jiounds, 
inquired on what account, and beinpf intiirmed that it was 
as an encouragement to poetical genius, remonstrated witii 
his sovereign mistress for her prodigality in thus rewarding 
"a song." " Give him, then, what is reason," said Eliza- 
beth, and the poet went for some time unrewarded.* It 
was not, however, long before Spenser proved the sound- 
ness of his understanding by completing his View of the 
State of Ireland, in which, under the name of Irena-us, he 
vindicates his patron, liOrd (>rey, from the arguments of 
Eudo.xus. This production, which he intended to have been 
followed by a work on tiic antiquities of Ireland, was not 
published until 1633, when the writer was no longer alive 
to enjoy tlie fame which it deservedly received. I le was, 
however, consoled for this delay, and ior tiu^ death of liis 
first patron, Sir Philip Sidney, by the giil of three thousand 
acres of land in Cork, once belonging- to the Earl of Des- 
mond, and forfeited by his rebellion to the crown. Here 
he lived in tlie castle of Kilcolman, formerly the abode of 
the Desmonds, seated upon a fine lake, and connnanding a, 
view which presented the varied beauties of mountain and 
forest scenery, through which the river Mulla wandered.i- 
In this romantic residence Si)enscr composed that great 
poem, whicii, if it delights and fills the imagination, com- 
mands also from the judgment the tribute of dispassionate 
approbation. Restrained by the necessity of ofiering in- 
cense to tlie power and vanity of Elizabeth, the untortu- 
nate Spenser has shown that even in tlie most sequestered 

• Until ho addressod this well-known romonstranco to the queen : — 
" 1 was promised on a time 
To have reason lor my rliime ; 
From that time nntil this season 
I received nor rhimo nor reason." 
Upon rereivinc those lines, the queen, it is said, ordered the payment of 
(he hundred pounds tirst |)romised. 
t See Smith's Hist of Cork, vol. i. p 55-3113. Also vol. ii. p. 'JCO— 2CJ. 



48 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

retreats worldly desires intrude. But the queen, although 
constituting the heroine of the piece, and represented, ac- 
cording to a modern writer, as " sending fortli the moral 
virtueaillustrated under tlie character of diflercnt knights,"* 
proved, that siie merited not the praise, by her neglect of 
the autiior. Ralegh, on arriving at the retired dwelling 
of Spenser, found iiim poor, and almost in obscurity. Al- 
ready had he tasted of the poet's true portion in the mise- 
ries of rejected love ; but Rosalinde, or Rosa Lynde, the 
supposed idol of the bard, had, it may be presumed, been 
forgotten in the happiness of a subsequent marriage, Ra- 
legh, although more tbrtunate than his friend, had also ex- 
perienced vicissitude; lor the source of that displeasure 
which Elizabetli shortly afterwards evinced towards him, 
had probably already become obvious to his own mind. The 
mood in which he visited Spenser was evidently of a 
melancholy character. Spenser, in his pas^toral entitled 
"Colin Clout's come home again,"' describes in Ralegh 
the shepherd of the ocean, a hopeless mourner for the lost 
favor of " Cyntliia, the lady of the sea," otlierwise the 
queen. 

" His sons was all of lamentable lay, 

" Of great unkinilness, and of usage hard." 

The imagination would fain linger upon the probable 
conversation of these two great men, so congenial in feel- 
ings, so devoted to the same mistress. Fame ; alike so fa- 
vored, yet so unfortunate in pursuing her tracks. Poetry, 
the luxury of minds undebased by worldly ambition, occu- 
pied a great portion of the meditations in which these gift- 
ed friends indulged ; Spenser was persuaded by Ralegh to 
repair to the English court, in order to present to the queen 
three books of his poem ; and Ralegh was probably at this 
time preparing tlie verses, which he afterwards wrote on 
the " Faery Qxiecn.'"] They travelled together to Eng- 
land, and passing the Isle of Lundy, landed in Cornwall, at 
Saint Michael's Mount, and proceeded to London. Here 
Ralegh, in vain, endeavored to procure for his friend those 
substantial advantages, which might enable him to pursue 
his literary career unshackled by the anxieties of penury. 
Spenser, although possessed of eminent talents as a politi- 
cian, and of extensive information in Irish affairs, failed in 

* Lord Lyttletoii. t I'iiB Rritannica, art Spenser. 



Lin: Of r-m xv.\i.ii-ii kai.kuh 4j> 

ilia ellbrts to perform llio laak imposed on liim, of laying- 
down a plan for subduing and reforming tliat. country iii 
two years. In dejection and noglect lie returned to Ire- 
land, which he letl some years afterwards, in order to pub- 
lish his poem. During his absence from Kilcolman, his 
property was plundered by tlie rebels under Lord Tyrone, 
and his house, containing one of his children, was burned 
to the groimd. This calamity broke his heart Reduced 
to a state of extreme misery and dependence, he yet re- 
tained somewhat of that delicacy of feeling, whicli is, or 
ought to be, inherent in poets; and when, in declinmg 
health, he received twenty pieces of gold from the Earl of 
Essex, he returned them, saying " he had no time to 
spend." 

Upon his remains, as so otlen happens to men of genius, 
were lavished the honors which had been withheld from 
himself He was buried in Westminster Abbey, according 
to his own wish, near Chaucer ; and his obsequies were at- 
tended by poets and other distinguished men of his time, 
whilst complimentary verses were throvvn into his grave. 
That Ralegh cheered the last sorrowful days of his friend 
by his bounty is not specified, nor is he loiown to have 
shared in the fruitless homage olFered to his memory. His 
euA'ied rival, Essex, provided the funeral of the jwet ; and 
the accomplished Countess of Dorset erected his monu- 
ment. 

During some time after Ralegh's return to England, he 
appears to have enjoyed the peculiar favor of the queen. 
For his services against the Armada, she rewarded him 
with an augmentation of his office of licenses ; and, for the 
assistance which he had afforded to Don Antonio, he was 
repaid by the gift of a gold chain from Elizabeth. 

lit the exercise of his license for vending wines, he was 
not restricted in increasing the number of vintners in any 
part of the kingdom. Hence a dispute arose between him 
and the university of Cambridge ; the heads of which es- 
poused the cause of a vintner whom they had formerly ap- 
pointed, not only in opposition to a man named Keymere, 
licensed by Ralegh, but to his personal hindrance and dan- 
ger in the occupations of his business. Such, indeed, were 
the oppressions in which that learned body occasionally in- 
dulged, that notwithstanding repeated and temperate re- 
raonBtrances, they finally imprisoned the man for follo\ving 
E 



50 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

a calling which had been lawfully permitted to him. Tlie 
intelligence of this proceeding having reached lialegh, he 
was resolved to use more determined measures lluui those 
which he had hitiierto adopted ; and, aildressing the Vice- 
Chancellor and Masters of Colleges, he wrote to them in 
these words : — " As I reverence the place of wliich you are 
tlie governors, so will I not willingly tiike any disgrace or 
wrong from you ;" subscribing himself " their friend, aa 
they shall give cause." This epistle produced an humble 
and explanatory reply from the Vico-Chancellor, represent- 
ing that they hail enjoyed the disputed privilege lor more 
than two hundred years ; that they had not neglected any 
quiet means to procure his permission for their continuance 
of tlie office : but tliat he had used such severe language, 
lliat they had entertained but little hopes of conciliating 
one who must have understood how to receive and to re- 
turn tlie language of courtesy : " bemg by birtli a gentle- 
man, by education trained up to Uie knowledge of good let- 
ters ; instructed with the liberal disposition of an univer- 
sity, the fountain and nursery of all humanity ; and further, 
by God's good blessing, advanced in court, from which tlie 
very name of courtesy is drawn." To this flattering lan- 
guage Ralegh was, probably, not insensible ; for, in tlio 
course of a few montlis, the altercation was terminated 
through the mediation of the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, who 
was at tliat time Chancellor of Cambridge.* 

Encouraged by tlie testimonies of approbation which he 
aad received from tlie Queen, and availing himself of a 
temporary cessation of hostilities witli Spain, Ralegh now 
prepared to execute a design, which he had formed for 
abolishing tlie power of that nation in tlie West Indies. 
With this intention, he collected, chiefly at his own ex- 
irm pense, tliirteen vessels, with which he determined 
' ■ to raise a certain and permanent renown. Aided 
by two of the Queen's men-of-war, and authorized to as- 
sume the title of General of tlie Fleet, he set sail from tlie 
west of England. Scarcely had he commenced his voyage, 
hefore he was overtaken by Sir Martin Frobislier, witli 
orders from tlie Queen, who wisely dreaded tlie absence 
of one of her bravest defenders, whilst danger still threat- 
ened the country. But Ralegh, conceiving that his honor 

* Oldys, V 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 61 

was pledged to proceed, pursued his course, although al- 
most hopeless of enijapiiifr with the Sjmnish fleet, having 
received iiitinuition that it would not sail tliat year. Dis- 
couraged still further by a storm off* (^ape Finisterrc, and 
finding his provisions run short, ho divided his fleet be- 
tween Frobisiier and Sir Joiin liurgh, witii orders, which 
were diligently obeyed, that one party should terrify the 
Spaniards on their own coast, whilst tiic other should re- 
main at the Azores, to intercept tlie Caracques on their 
voyage from the West Indies. Tiiis arrangement pro- 
duced the capture of the Madre de Dios, the largest prize 
that had ever been brouglit to the English shores. Tlie 
Queen, who had contributed so scantily to the expenses 
of this adventure, engrossed, nevertheless, a considerable 
share of its profits, which were estimated at five hundred 
thousand pounds. The jewels and the valuables fell chiefly 
to the lot of the sailors, so that Hawkins, who had joined 
Ralegh in the speculation, gained, as well as his associate, 
a diminished jwrtion of the prize.* 

I'his was the only occasion, if we except the services 
against the Spanish Armada, in wiiicli Ralegh co-operated 
with Sir Martin Frobisiier. That brave and indefatigable 
man, the associate of Drake, in the successful expedition 
to the West Indies, died lour years after his joint service 
with Ralegh, in consequence of a wound received at the 
siege of Brest ; the injury was not of a dangerous charac- 
ter, but an ignorant or careless surgeon, after extracting a 
ball which had entered, omitted to clear out the wadding. 
Thus perislied one of the most meritorious, although not 
one of the most amiable, of our naval heroes. During a 
period of fifteen years, Frobisiier had, in the early part of 
his career, cherislied tiie project, which he afterwards at- 
tempted, of finding a north-west passage to China. For 
the supplies of ships and money, he vainly solicited several 
English merchants, a class of men, who are unjustly de- 
scribed by tlie indignant Hakluyt, as never regarding vir- 
tue " witliout sure, cert^iiii, and present gains."! Happily lor 
Frobisher, Elizabetii listened to his schemes, thus securing 
to herself the fame of being the first sovereign by wlioni 
the project of, a north-west passage to China was publicly 
and perseveringly encouraged. 

♦ niii h, Ji t Hakluyt, vol, 3. p. Ca 



52 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

It is a relief to find Ralegh for several years after this 
enterprise devoting himself to the civil interests of his 
country ; and shining in the council and the senate, wi?h 
a calmer and more benignant lustre than that wliich at- 
tended his warlike exploits. As a politician, his leading 
principles of action seem to have been, religions toleration, 
determinetl opposition to amity with Spain, and hatred of 
her encroachments. For the display of these opinions, he 
incurred odium, persecution, and death. It is probable 
that in the tunnoil of worldly business, and in a court, 
where it is difficult to " hold fast one's integrity," he may, 
in some instances, have forgotten the great ends which he 
appeared especially qualified to pursue ; and mingled xvith 
elevated designs, motives of envy and ambition. But on a 
general retrospect of his character, he appears to hsPve 
been a public-spirited and loyal subject to Queen Elizabeth ; 
and yet an enlightened and liberal defender of the rights 
and interests of his country. To the established church, 
Ralegh was frequently adverse ; and from. his conduct in 
various instances, obnoxious. His first offence was an en- 
croachment upon their temporalities. In his anxiety to 
obtain a certain manor, he is asserted to have traduced to 
the Queen, Godwin, Bishop of Bath and Wells, an aged 
prelate, the father of Dr. Francis Godwin, who wrote the 
" Catalogue of English Bishops." But although not en- 
tirely free from blame in this affair, Ralegh escaped the 
censures of Dr. Francis Godwin, who, in revising his work 
in the succeeding reign, makes no comments upon the 
conduct of Sir Walter, but rather regrets that his father 
should have sought to monopolize livings, to the duties of 
which his infirmities precluded him from attending.* 

The accusation against Ralegh, which was thus, in 
some degree, nullified, was adduced by Sir John Harring- 
ton, in his work entitled a Brief View of the Church of 
England, which was intended to serve as a continuation of 
Godwin's Catalogue of Bishops. It was written during 
the reign of James the First, in the time of Ralegh's sub- 
sequent confinement; and was addressed to Henry, Prince 
of Wales, rather as a story told in his Highness's pi-esence 
and hearing, than as a grave narration of established facts. 

* Oldyp. p. 5P. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. "53 

Yet Harrington relates tlie circumstance as an anecdote 
generally known; find annexes to it several particulars 
whicli are extremely discreditable to Ralegh. It is ob- 
servable, however, that lie alludes to him not by name, but 
only as a chief favorite of that time, who, being unable to 
get the manor of Ban well from the bishop, took advantage 
of an unsuitable and unseasonable marriage made by tlie 
aged prelate, to incense the Queen's mind against him. 
Persecuted and alarmed. Dr. Godwin was, eventually, con- 
strained to surrender, for the term of a hundred years, an- 
other manor belonging to him, in order to save that which 
llalegh coveted. The relator of this tale affirms, that he had 
Himself carried many angry messages on the subject from 
the Q,ueen to the bishop, wliich were, in one instance, de- 
livered to hun through the Earl of Leicester ; that favorite 
at first espousing the cause of the old man, but eventually 
concurring with Ralegh, " like Pilate and Herod to condemn 
Christ."* Such is the story, and such are the irregular, 
yet not contemptible, grounds upon which it rests. This 
charge was not the only one which the able and discern- 
ing but time-serving Harrington has brought against Ralegh 
in his works, although rendering him justice in his familiar 
letters. 

The protection which Ralegh afforded to Udall was an- 
other cause of offence to the clergy. Udall, although 
regularly educated as a minister of the establishegl church, 
had yet joined the Non-conformists ; and had distinguished 
himself both for his zeal and eloquence, but still more for 
his " DeTTionstration of Discipline ;" a work reflecting 
upon the church, but construed by the harsh yet fawning 
spirit of the age, into a libel on the Queen's majesty. 
Upon this ground he was indicted, was brought to the bar in 
fetters, and there tried upon the depositions of witnesses, no 
viva voce testimony being allowed: neither washe permitted 
to reply, the defence which he might have prepared, being 
rejected unheard, as libellous. The unhappy man was 
found guilty of publishing the book, but remained half a 
year in prison, without receiving his sentence: when, 
continuing firm in his tenets, he was brought before the 
Lord Keeper Puckering, to receive judgment of death. 

* Harrington's Brief View, 110, 111. 

E2 



54 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

Immediately after the sentence, a reprieve was sent him 
from the Queen, at the instance of Ralegh, who advised 
him to improve this interval of mercy by addressing a let- 
ter to Elizabeth, explaining the true purport of his writings. 
Some hopes of liberty were tlius afforded to Udall, but his 
release was deferred from time to time, until he died in 
prison, having rejected the humane offer of a free passage to 
Guinea, upon condition that he should revisit England no 
more. It was in reference to the mediation of Ralegh 
on this and other occasions, that Elizabeth said to him, 
"When, Sir Walter, will you cease to be a beggar 1" 
" When your gracious Majesty ceases to be a benefactor," 
was the adroit and courteous reply. 

1592 Consistent with his horror of persecution were 
the efforts which Ralegh made in parliament, to 
prevent the expulsion of the Brownists, and other sectari- 
ans, from this country, upon the score of religious opinions. 
The Brownists owed their origin and name to one Robert 
Brown, who afterwards carried his heretical tenets to Zea- 
land, the hot-bed of extravagant and speculative modes of 
faith. Although in orders, and aflerwards preferred to the 
rectory of Northampton, yet Brown held that the " church- 
government was anti-christian ; her sacraments clogged 
with superstition ; that the Liturgy had a mixture of po- 
pery and paganism in it, and that the Mission of the clergy 
was no better than that of Baal's priests in the Old Testa- 
ment."* For the unhesitating display of these opinions, 
which, unwarranted as they were, had been best answered by 
that spirit of forbearance which " suffers long," Brown incur- 
red unwonted persecution, which placed a violent and mis- 
chievous sectarian almost on the footing of a martyr ; he 
could boast that he had been confined in thirty-two prisons, 
in many of which he could not see his hand at noon-day ; 
and, although upon his promise of conforming to the estab- 
lished church, he was permitted to enjoy one of its bene- 
fices, yet he died in Northampton jail, whither he was sent 
for strildng a constable. His opinions, which were derived 
from those of the Donatists, occasioned, for a time, violent 
controversies, and his followers gave considerable annoy- 
ance to the church, so late as the reign of Charles the First. 
At length, after being associated in public proclamations 

* Hiripiapln-) 



LIFE OF SIR WALTKR UALEGII. 55 

with Anabaptists and Atheists, the Bro^vnists, furious and 
obnoxious as they were, were softened into Congregational- 
ists, or Independents, holding a middle course between 
Presbyterianisni and Brownism.* 

It was in reference partly to these schismatics that an act 
was passed for the purpose of " retaining her Majesty's ser- 
vants in due obedience, specifying further, that any person 
above sixteen years of age who refused, during the space of 
a month, to attend public worship, should be committed to 
prison ; and, if persisting for three months in such deter- 
mination, be banished the realm under pain of death, if de- 
tected in returning.f To the enactment of this law, very 
little opposition was made by the compliant commons then 
met ; but Ralegh opposed it upon reasons, which have ever 
been deemed the most conclusive in favor of religious tole- 
ration : these, he grounded upon the injustice of punish- 
ment, when the offence consists in those thoughts and 
cherished notions, which are hidden within the inmost re- 
cesses of the heart, and of which our fellow-men cannot, 
on that account, be competent judges. Such were the sen- 
timents which he expressed upon this occasion : — " In my 
conceit, the Brownists are worthy to be rooted out of a 
commonwealth ; but what danger may grow to ourselves 
if this law pass, were fit to be considered. For it is to be 
feared that men not guilty will be included in it ; and that 
law is hard, that taketh life, and sendeth into banishment ; 
where men's intentions shall be judged by a jury,J and they 
shall be judges what another means. But the law, which is 
against a fact, is but just ; and punish the fact as severely 
as you will. If two or three thousand Brownists meet at 
the sea, at whose charge shall they be transported, and 
where shall they be sent ] I am sorry for it, but I am afraid 
there are near twenty thousand of them in England, and 
when they are gone, M^ho shall maintain their wives and 
children ]"§ Such humane and judicious suggestions as 
these appear to have had their due weight with the House. 



''■•* See note in explanation of their tenets. Biog. art. Brown. 

t Hume, reign Elizabeth, year J501. 

t Recusants were to be tried by civil .judges at assizes, in preference 
to ecclesiastical courts. (Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 2(i4.) An enact- 
ment which Hume attributes to the desire of the clergy to remove the 
odium from themselves. See note, reign Eliz. 

§ Oldv!?, 6P, from T'nrns^hpnd> Hi?t.- rollrrtlons 



56 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

A committee was appointed to revise the bill, and among 
the list Ralegh's name appears : many amendments and 
additions were consequently adopted.* 

Although in withstanding so arbitrary and rigid a law as 
this, Ralegh espoused the cause of the Catholics, as well 
as that of the Dissenters, his display of liberality, added to 
his avowed enmity to the Spanish court, drew upon him tlie 
satire of Fatlier Parsons, who, imder tlie title of a " Lover 
of his Country" inveiglied bitterly in a libellous publica- 
tion against some of the most eminent public characters 
of the time. Ralegh became an object of his invectives, 
and the cry of Atheist, tliat established watch-word of cal- 
umny, was raised against him. He was even stated to have 
formed a school of Atheism, in which the Old and New 
Testament were derided, and a spirit of blasphemy infused 
into the minds of the scholars. But the enemies of Ralegh 
had, in this instance, a deeper source of hatred towards him 
tlian mere party rancor. He had been the avowed patron 
of every measure which conduced to diffuse information, 
and to promote tolerance and free inquiry. By no class of 
persons were proceedings soch as these so much dreaded 
and discountenanced, as by tlie Jesuits, a learned but de- 
signing sect, who, by the weakness and ignorance of others, 
found their own power strengtliened, and tlie influence of 
their superstitions extended. Among tliese, the first that 
established himself in England was Parsons, the son of a 
blacksmith of Somersetshire ; once a zealous Protestant, 
and an eminent tutor of O.xford, where he was the first to 
introduce Protestant autliors into tlie library of Baliol Col- 
lege. But, becoming bursar of his college, he exercised 
such a notorious system of peculation, that, upon an in- 
quiry being made into his conduct, he found it convenient 
to resign his I'ellowship. He afterwards travelled on 
the Continent, and becoming acquainted with the order 
of the Jesuits, his restless and intriguing temper of mind 
inclined him to enter eagerly into tlie spirit of that sect. 
In process of time, he rose to the dignity of Chief Peni- 
tentiary ; and was appointed to superintend the English 
seminary at Rome, whence he was sent into England by 
the Pope, witli instructions to establish his order, to expel 
Queen Elizabeth, and subvert the Protestant religion. 

• Oldys, 6!», 



UPE OF SIR WAL'l'EU UALEGIJ. 57 

Fur such a design, Parsons was admirably qualified, his 
character being a compound of duplicity and boldness, 
of enterprise and of caution. In conjunctioii with one Fa- 
ther Campion, he divided lOngland into three parts, each 
of which was vigilantly, but with the utmost secrecy, 
watched by one or other of tlie associated emissaries. 
Campion remained in the north, while Parsons, who usu- 
ally continued near London, introduced into Cambridge a 
young priest as a nobleman. By these agents the minds 
of tlie people were allured, inflamed, or intimidated, as op- 
portunity offered, until the apprehension of Campion dis- 
concerted all their measures, and drove Parsons into Nor- 
mandy. Tliere ho remained ; and having, before his depar- 
ture from England, given birth to the noted libel belore 
referred to, containing chiefly appalling, and in some in^ 
stances, incredible relations of the Earl of Leicester's atroci- 
ties ; he publisiied, under the name of Doleman, a " Con- 
ference between a Gentleman, a Lawyer, and a Scholar," 
concerning the Succession to the Crown of England, dedi- 
cating it to tlie Earl of Essex, then the rising favorite.* 
This production was designed to reflect upon the govern- 
ment, and to subvert the authority of Queen Elizabeth. 
At her death, the exertions of this reverend father were 
directed to a fruitless endeavor to prevent the succession 
of James the First to the tln-one.f 

It was in tiic preceding year, that Ralegh, in -irno 
conjunction with many other eminent persons, had 
aided in inflictmg a deep wound upon the power of the 
Jesuits, by advising tlie Queen to issue a proclamation for 
the suppression of the Jesuitical seminaries, of which va- 
rious branches, from the original institution by Philip the 
Second at Valladolid, had been established in England.^ 
The share which Ralegh had in this proceeding was never 
forgiven by tiie advocates of Spain, nor by those who, upon 
the plea of religion, as they called it, wished to see this 

* See this curious, and certainly ingenious and pointed work, written, 
like the preceding one, by the same author, with the spirit of a demon. 
Ed. 11)41. Printed first without a name. 

t Biog. Britan. art. Parsons. 

t The establishment of Jesuitical seminaries in tliis country was 
found impractic.ihle until after tlio year J5t)>2; although Loyola, wlio 
founded the order in 15.11, had signified to Cardinal Pole his desire of 
feeing it introduced into Enph-nd Note in Piog. from Tartc'S Histo^ 
of Riigland. 



68 LIFE OF SIR WALTKIl RALKGII. 

country in some respects constituted like that nation. 
Happily for Entrland, the jxiwer of the Jesuits, an euijine 
of frisjhtful ascendency in all countries where it has been 
y>erniitted, was thus, from tJie decision and wistloni of 
Elizabeth's councils, precluded from tlie exercise of its in- 
siuuatinij, but oppressive operations ; but, unfortunately for 
Kalejjh, the various insinuations tiirown out aoainst liim 
were aidetl in their etlect by an event which happened 
alnnit this time, and which for a season aftected his fortunes 
and his tranipiillity. 

rrouioted by Elizabeth to be one of tJie Gentlemen of 
the Privy Chamber. Ralofjli, who hati neither the habits 
nor the soul of an idler, was constrained to come into very 
frequent comnuuiication with the ladies of tlie bed-cliam- 
ber, but, in gfeueral, witJiout pnxlucinff many prcx>fs of 
amity on either side : indeed he was ot\en heard to say, 
that his fair associates "were like witciies,\vlio could do 
no gtxxl, but might do liarm."* This remark was remem- 
bered with bitter exultation, when it was discovered tiiat 
there existed between lliilesjh anil the beautiful daufrhter 
of Sir Nicholas Throoinorton, an intimacy which would, 
had it happened in tliese days, have blasted for ever the 
reputation of the lady, who was also one of Elizabeth's per- 
sonal attendants. This conduct was the more inexcusable 
in Raleoh, because the object of his addresses was unpro- 
tected by a fatlier's care, Sir iXicholas 'I'hrooniorton havinpf 
died in 1570,t suddenly, and not without some suspicions 
of his havinjr been ix)isoned by the Earl of Leicester, in 
wlu>se house he was at supper when he was attacked by a 
complaint which provetl fatal. Sir Nicholas had ever been 
an object of dislike to that unprincipled nobleman, partly 
from his early adherence to the Somerset faction, and more 
innnediately from a close alliance witJi tiie elder Cecil. 
The Earl pretended, however, jireat friendship towards 
him, and affectintr to be sunnnoned to the royal presence 
on the sudden return of the Queen to lii>ndon, bade Sir 
Nicholas take his seat^ and l)e served as he had been. The 
jjuesi, it is said, obeyed tlie Hatterini;' conmiand, and par- 
tot>k of a siilad, to whicii he afterwards, on his death-bed. 
imputed the disease whicij killed liim, but respecting tlie 

* Bacon's A iMplit lie-ins, New and Old, 395. 
t rRmdeii's Aiinnl!i. p. IW, year 15T0. 



LIPI) OF SIR WALTKR RAl,K<!ir. 59 

nature ofwliicli accounts vary.* By some it was observed 
that lie (lied of " licicoster's riioum," tliat nohloiiian beiiiof 
no mean artist in the faculty of ixn.soniui); if by others, it 
was asserted to be an iin|K)Stluune of tlic huiofs, whicli 
caused liis death. Tlio circumstances of the Tln"oj>inorton 
family were not prosperous, Sir Nicholas, althouifji de- 
scended fmm an ancient tiimily, and allied by his mother 
to the house of Vaulx, and pertbrmin<j the arduous ])art3 
of a statesman and ambassador, haviuij never risen hiolier 
than .to tiie offices of Chamberlain of Euijland, and ('hief 
IJutler; employments wiiich liave been coniparotl to an 
" empty covered cup, pretendinjj to some state, but allord- 
h\'r no considerable protit."| Sir Nicholas, to use the 
words of Camden, " was a man of jjreat exj)erience, pnss- 
injr sharp wit, and sinijular diliijence ; who busily attem|)t- 
ing' many things, in Queen Marie's days, hardly saved his 
life by his eloi]uent wisdome."} His sound and energetic 
mind seems, in some respects, to have descended to his 
daug-jitcr, notwithst.anding the error of her early years; 
and had that indiscretion never occurred, few feminine 
cJiaracters could have appeared more formed, in every 
sense, to have accorded witii the uncommon attributes of 
Ralegh, than that of Elizabeth Throgmorton. Uy report 
of her contemporaries, she is said, in the first place, to 
have possessed personal attractions in an eminent degree ; 
and, in her picture, which in the time of Oldys, the diligent 
[biographer of Ilalegh, remained in the jHisscssion of a de- 
.scendant of llalegh,|| she is represented as a fair, handsome 
.woman, attired in the fashion of the day, and witii the 
ffsplendor which Ralegh was wont so eminently to display. 
[This circumstance, though comparatively unimjwrtant, 
i was perhaps of consecpience in the eyes of Ralegii, who 
particularly instructed his son not to marry an uncomely 
woman. ir She was in birth his equal, and,- in age, eighteen 
years his junior. But whilst these adventitious circum- 
stances were in favor of tlieir mutual happiness, tlie quali- 



* Soe thnt most iniquitous l)ook, pntitlcd, " Leicestur's Common- 
wealUi," p. 27. Tho story is accredited l»y Oniudoii, and by many other 
conteni|>orary writt'r.s. 

t Fuller's Worthies of Warwickshire. J Camden. 

§ Camden, p. 130. || Oldys, 145. 

IT See his InstriirtionB to his son, and to Posterity, in Ralegh's Uc- 
mains, diioderimo, 1GU4, p. )^0. 



CO LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ties of which her subsequent history does best vouch, auJ 
which tlie events of a calamitous life drew forth, were 
singularly adapted to the part which was in life allotted to 
her. tShe was capable of a devotion to her husband be- 
yond the power of absence, persecution, and the ruin of all 
her temporal prosperity, on his account, to diminish. She 
had activity and resolution which well became the wife of 
a hero. Slie had disinterestedness wortlay of the name of 
Ralegli. In her exertions for those who were dear to her, / 
she evinced the judgment and steadiness of a man ; in lier 
constancy and disregard of personal comforts and consider- 
ations, the single-lieartedness and tenderness of a woman's 
nature. Iler deviation from the delicacy of the feminine 
character was not, in her own times, viewed with the un- 
relenting, yet wholesome, severity with which the world 
visits it 111 the present day. By her family Ralegh seems 
to have been forgiven, since we afterwards find her brother. 
Sir Artiiur Throgmorton, associated with hun in his mari- 
time enterprises.* By Queen Elizabeth, it is to be feared, 
the sin was visited, more as a scandal to her court, and an 
offence to her own paramount charms, than as a dereliction 
from morality. Soon after the exposure of their fault, Ra- 
legh was united to her in marriage, an union pre-eminent- 
ly marked by vicissitudes, but cheered by their uninter- 
rupted affection. On every important occurrence of his 
life, we find Ralegh addressing her as tlie confidential re- 
pository of his joys and afflictions ; sometimes in the lan- 
guage of affectionate consolation in their common bereave- 
ments, always in that of regard, implicit trust, and respect. 
For some time, however, during the early days of their | 
married life, their mutual attachment seemed to bring 
only separation and sorrow. The erring young lady was 
dismissed from the court, to the contagion of which she 
probably owed her disgrace ; and Ralegh was imprisoned 
for sonic months, as it appears from a letter addressed by 
Sir Robert Cecil to Sir Arthur Gorges, in the Tower.f 
Whilst tlius confined, he one day, sitting at his window, 
perceived by a collection of boats and royal barges, near 
Blaclcfriars' Bridge, that the Queen was passing. It was 
soon intimated to him that she was visiting the Lieutenant 
of the Ordnance, Sir George Carew, in whose custody he 

* Oldys, p 103. t Birch, 2728. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER KALEGH. 61 

was pining away hours of obscurity and inaction. Having- 
gazed and sighed a long tune, Ralegh, either envying the 
gay and the free, who passed in busy succession by him, or 
hoping to make ian impression upon the vam heart of the 
Queen, resolved to disguise himself, flW to get into a boat, 
to see Her Majesty, declaring that if he were prevented, 
" it would break his heart." But Sir George Carew would 
not permit so audacious an attempt; and Ralegh strug- 
gling to be free, a battle ensued between them, which 
might have proved fatal to one of the parties, had not a 
timely mediator intervened, who, according to his own ac- 
count, " played the stickler" between them." This occur- 
rence was, however, conveyed to Lord Burleigh,! and 
probably wrought somewhat upon the Queen, to whom 
Ralegh, in common with other favored courtiers, professed 
that extravagant species of devotion with which few women, 
except Elizabeth, would have been flattered. What was 
the duration of Ralegh's imprisonment does not appear; 
but it is evident, from a letter of Sir Robert Cecil's, writ- 
ten at Dartmouth, in 1592, and preserved in the State 
Paper Office, that, even when engaged in public business, 
Ralegh was attended by a " keeper," and that he felt all 
the inconveniences and disgrace of a state criminal. By 
this letter, now for the first time printed (in the Appen- 
dix,) Cecil speaks of Ralegh's " brutish oflence ;" yet it ap- 
pears, from the pains taken to investigate some matters 
which are unexplained, that there were other and deeper 
sources of offence to the Queen than the intrigue with her 
attendant ; and, from the tenor of tlie epistle, there is con- 
siderable reason to conclude that the Queen's displeasure 
had some reference to Ralegh's appropriation of certain 
prizes, which Cecil, with other commissioners, was ap- 
pointed to superintend. See Appendix C. 

It was before Ralegh was sentenced to a temporary du- 
rance, that he had, in the House of Commons (in 1592), 
displayed his allegiance to the Queen, in a manner appa- 
rently highly satisfactory to licr, and advantageous to him- 
self Elizabeth, impoverished by the wars with Spain, had 



* "Stickler," according to Sir Walter Scott, a kind of second, who, 
with a long stick, kept the combatants in a duel at proper distances until 
the combat began. 

tSee Birch, 272=' 

it' 



62 UPE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH, 

demanded, ratlier than requested, subsidies from her par- 
liament. Ralegh entered zealously into her views, and 
suggested a plan for paying the subsidies ; but he strenu- 
ously opposed a survey of the wealth <of the nation, a 
scheme proposed b^ftome, but which he deemed likely to 
diminish the national credit. The question of encouraging 
foreigners, to the detriment of English merchants, having 
arisen, he had maintained that denization ought not to cir- 
cumvent birthright, and that tolerance, as citizens, to for- 
eigners, rendered us almost strangers at home, destroying 
that reciprocation of benefits in which social intercourse 
ought to consist. He represented that, in harboring for- 
eigners, we maintain those who dislike our church, and 
give liberty and encouragement to members of a natioi 
which would not, in all probability, return the obligation ; 
disloyalty, he contended, was thus fostered, and an en- 
croaching spirit in foreign adventurers, engendered. That 
Ralegh appears to have carried these notions too far, will 
readily be allowed, by those who may even reject the more 
enlightened views of modern policy : for it seems to admit' 
of a doubt that the industrious portion of any community 
would not, by their presence and exertions, contribute to 
the spirit of emulation, upon which advancement in all the 
arts so materially depends. 

But whilst, by attention to public business, he was now 
gradually establishing in the mind of Elizabeth a confi- 
dence in his talents; yet, as a courtier, Ralegh was still 
in disgrace. It was not, however, the policy of Elizabeth 
to allow her able and valiant subjects to remain in inac- 
tion, whether they were in or out of favor : and it was not 
long before occasion oflered to prove the zeal and bravery 
of her commanders. 

Early in the spring of the year 1596, the Queen had 
been apprized that a Spanish fleet was again in prepara- 
tion, collected from the wrecks and remains of the Armada, 
in order to begin a fresh invasion of her territories upon 
the coast of Ireland. Elizabeth, judging that it would, in 
this instance, be far more glorious to commence the attack, 
equipped a fleet of one hundred and fifty sail, commanded 
by Lord Howard of Effingham, at whose charge, in con- 
junction with Essex, the expenses of the armament were, 
in a great measure, defrayed. The secret object of the 
expedition was Cadiz, the situation of which afforded the 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER UALEGII. 63 

enemy great facility in carrying on his designs against the 
British dominions. The Earl of Essex, to whom the prin- 
cipal command of the land forces was committed, was a 
favorite with the people, who are ever ready to prize those 
qualities which they can most easily comprehend. Ac- 
cording to the general opinion of him, " no man was more 
ambitious of glory by virtue, no man more careless of all 
things else."* Yet he was accounted in few respects a 
good commander, was headstrong and rash, and was fre- 
quently unfortunate in his undertakings ; a circumstance 
unputed by the astrologers of those superstitious times to 
the " disastrous aspect of Mars, which, in the hour of his 
nativity, shined most adversely upon him in the eleventh 
house of Heaven."! By less superstitious reasoners, the 
failure of most of the enterprises in which Essex had the 
command, may be attributed to his precipitate temper, 
which displayed itself even in the ordinary and trivial ac- 
tions of his life.J The very qualities which occasioned 
his ruin as a courtier, militated against his success as a 
general. An indifferent pupil of Lord Leicester, his father- 
in-law and patron, who, it was said, " was wont to put all 
his passions in his pocket^," Essex could neither conceal 
his emotions, nor, what was far more important, regulate 
them : so that he not only " carried his love and hatred on 
his forehead," but manifested either the one or the other 
upon too slight grounds, intemperately, and often un- 
justly. || Yet his resentments proceeded rather " from the 
weakness of his judgment, than from the malice of his na- 
ture," and whilst he sometimes allowed them to master his 
better feelings, he was incapable of deliberately consenting 
to the oppression of an innocent man.lT 

Such were the qualities possessed by the chief in com- 
mand upon the expedition to Cadiz : to these must be add- 
ed, dauntless gallantry, and an insatiable thirst for fame ; 

• Camden, 553. t Camden, 552. 

t In the famous parallel between him and the Duke of Buckingham, 
Essex is described as holding his toilet with his room full of suitor?: 
" his eyes, his ears, his head, and face employed at once ; his eyes to let- 
ters, his ears to petitioners, his head and face to his gentlemen attend- 
ants. Throw a cloak over his shoulders, and he was gone." Reliq. 
WottonicD, J6. 

§ Parallel between the Earl of Essex and the Duke of Buckingham. 
Rcliquia; Wottonite, p. 31. 

II Ibid. 30. V riarendone Characters. 



64 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

Essex in these latter respects, alone resembling' liis coad- 
jutor, Ralegh. It was, therefore, judged advisable to tem- 
per the rashness, and generous, dauntless demeanor of Es- 
sex, with tlie experience of Lord Howard of Effingham, 
mature in council, and deliberate in judgment, though 
prompt and energetic in action. The fleet, the sovereign 
control of which was placed in the hands of Lord Howard 
of Effingham, was divided into three squadrons, each of 
which was allotted to the respective command of Essex, 
Lord Thomas Howard, and Ralegh. Neither did Ralegh 
occupy the second post in command, that distinction being 
assigned to Lord Tliomas Howard, probably as a tribute to 
the merits and services of his father, the High Admiral, 
who had, already, evinced some jealousy of the ascendency 
which Essex had gained over the afiections of the Queen.* 
The fleet sailed from Plymouth in the beginning of June, 
1590, and proceeded without being descried, and conse- 
quently witliout interruption, along the coast of Portugal, 
to Cape Saint Vincent, wliere every captain was permitted 
to open his instructions, which had hitherto been sealed, 
with directions not to examine them, except in case of 
separation of the vessels from their respective squadrons. 
Upon the twentieth day of the month, the fleet cast anchor 
on the west side of the island of St. Leon, which is joined, 
by a causeway, to the peninsula on which Cadiz stands. 
Essex was here urgent that the forces should be landed, a 
proposition which was resisted by the other commanders, 
and especially by the Lord Admiral. On the ensuing day, 
it was, however, judged expedient to commence an attack 
upon the Spanish vessels, a counsel which was received by 
the impatient Earl with so much delight, that he threw up 
his hat in a transport of joy. The assault was chiefly 
committed to Lord Thomas Howard, and to Ralegh, who, 
in a ship called the Warspight, caused a Spanish vessel to 
fall back. After being first retained, and then floated in 
by the fluctuations of the tide, the Spanish fleet was com- 
pletely defeated, the principal ship, the Saint Philip, 
burned, and several other vessels. The pitying care of 
Lord Effingham, an Englishman not only in valor but in 
humanity, saved, however, several large vessels, and res- 
cued from drowning many poor and panic-struck sailors, 



Life of Lnril Charles Ilowarrl, Biogiapliia Britannira, 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 65 

who had cast themselves into the sea, from fear of capture 
or death at the hands of the besiegers. 

It now remained to prevent all communication between 
the town and the continent, and to storm the nearest gate. 
In this service of danger, Essex, full of military ardor and 
forgetful of personal security, was foremost ; but Sir 
Francis Vere, one of his council of war, had the good for- 
tune to break open the gate. Ralegh, in honorable asso- 
ciation with the two Howards, and the other principal 
officers, broke in, following several English leaders, who, 
covered with blood, and expiring from their wounds, were 
kniglited by Essex and Effingham on the spot. In this scene 
of confusion, victory was announced, the Spaniards retiring 
to the town-house and castle, botii of which they were soon 
induced to surrender, upon conditions advantageous to their 
conquerors. 

The next employment assigned to Ralegh was to pass 
up the Channel, in order to fire certain merchants' ships 
which liad retired to Port Real. To save these vessels, a 
ransom of eighty thousand ducats was offered, but they 
were eventually consumed ; the policy of the English gov- 
ernment, at that time, exacting as a main point the de- 
struction of the Spanish navy, in preference to the pursuit 
of plunder.* 

After much consultation, it was determined not to leave 
an English garrison in Cadiz, although Essex offered to re- 
main in it with four hundred men. In pursuance of the 
sad necessity of war, in this instance, as far as related to 
the Spaniards, alone aggressive as yet on the part of Eliz- 
abeth, Cadiz was cruelly devastated, the island of St. Leon 
despoiled, and the forts razed, the triumphant English bear- 
ing away the pillaged property of those who had once been 
opulent and secure. Impatient to reach more peaceful 
scenes, Ralegh, in conjunction with all the other command- 
ers, except the younger Howard, opposed the desire evinced 
by Essex still to pursue other detachments of the Spanish 
fleet towards the Azores ; and, returning to England, left 
him with a small portion of the troops endeavoring to track 
the enemy on the Spanish shores. 

The wealth derived from this expedition to most of the 
land commanders was considerable ; but Ralegh, either from 



+ ramrleii, 403. 



66 LIFE OF Sill WALTER RALKGH. 

being' chiefly deputed to naval services, or from some Other 
cause, remained uncnriched. According to his own account, 
he " got from a splinter a lame leg, and deformed," and fevir 
other trophies of the victory, in which he had a share. His 
account of his profits was, indeed, far from being encourag- 
ing, or cheering. " For the rest," he says, " either I spoke 
too late, or it was otherwise resolved : I have not been 
wanting in good words, or exceeding kind and regardful 
usage; but liave possession of naught but poverty and 
pain." Yet every lionorable tribute was paid to his valor, 
even by those who doubted his sincerity, or contemned his 
political conduct. The Lord High Admiral honored liim 
by an especial mention, and Sir Anthony Standon, an eye- 
witness, wrote to the Lord High Treasurer, that " no man, 
in his judgment, did better than Sir Walter Ralegh."* 

It was not, however, long after his return from Cadiz, 
that Ralegli obtained the consent of the Queen to the pur- 
suance of a scheme which appeared to his sanguine mind 
to promise both wealth and fame, but which, subsequently, 
involved his latter days in perplexity and danger. f 

This plan liad for its object, Guiana, a part of South 
America which had tlien only been visited by the Span- 
iards : to anticipate that adventurous nation in the seizure 
of uncolonizcd lands, and in the discovery of precious min- 
erals, was the avowed object of this, and of most similar 
enterprises of the period. It had long been a subject of 
meditation to Ralegh, wlio declares, in his dedication of the 
History of Guiana, that " many years smce lie had know- 
ledge, by relation, of that miglity, rich, and beautiful em- 
pire of Guiana, and of tliat great and golden city which the 
Spaniards call El Dorado, and the naturals Manoa."| To 
investigate this boasted region, afterwards the source of so 
much reproach and so much calamity to him, he resolved 
to set forth, having previously sent his servants, Jacob 
^Vhiddon and Captain Parker, who, the year before, had 
brought home reports that there was such a place as El 
Dorado, although they found it to be six hundred miles 
farther than they had anticipated. Whiddon, however, re- 
turned witli so favorable an account of the riclxes of the 
country, that Ralegh resolved to investigate it ; — a project 
in which he was encouraged by the concurrence of Sir 

* Uircli, i. 35. t Birch's Memoirs of Qticcii Klizabetli, ii. 54. 

J Sec Ilakliiyt 9 Voyages, vol. iii. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 67 

Robert Cecil and Lord Howard, both men of profound 
judgment, and of caution and experience.* 

He prepared, at his own charge, a squadron, composed 
of five sliips, besides barges, wherries, and other requisite 
aid ; but, either from deficiency of means or of information, 
he omitted, as it appears from his own account, taking with 
him such supplies of men and of instruments for mining as 
seemed essential for his purpose of investigation. Concern- 
ing this voyage he was assailed with reports of the most 
malignant character, and little immediate reward was de- 
rived from the expenses and hazards which he encounter- 
ed. He describes himself to have set out on this arduous 
undertaking " in the winter of his life ;" to have " under- 
gone many constructions, to have been accompanied with 
many sorrows, with labor, hunger, heat, siclmess, and 
peril."t " From myself," he observes, " I have deserved 
no thanks, for I am returned a beggar, and withered ; but 
that I might have bettered my poor estate, it shall appear 
by the following discourse, if I had not only respected her 
Majesty's future honor and riches. It became not the for- 
mer fortune in which I lived to go journeys of piccory ; 
and it had sorted ill with the offices of honor, which, by her 
Majesty's grace, I liold this day in England, to run from 
cape to cape, and from place to place, for the pillage of or- 
dinary prizes."J 

In 1595 he set sail from Plymouth ; and, after taking in 
fresh provisions at the Canaries, he was joined by a ship 
belonging to Lord Charles Howard ; and in the middle of 
March arrived at Trinidad, where he remained four or five 
days. Of this island Ralcgli lias given an account, in the 
interesting and animated style wliich characterizes all liis 
writings. He mentions, indeed, but sliglitly, the celebrat- 
ed Pitch I^ake Brea, which has since been found to cover 
one hundred and fifty acres ; but expatiates upon the Man- 
grove oysters, a species of natural production, then proba- 
bly new to him ; and he appears to liave made very minute 
observations upon tlie produce of tliis region. At Trinidad 
he gained such intelligence as the Spaniards resident there 
could afford him respecting Guiana: lie cherished, never- 
theless, at that time, a design of revenging himself upon 



* Birch, 29. t ^e Dedication to his Narrative, 

t See Voyage toGuiana. ''■*'-"' ''' "■a'-V " 



68 LIFE OF Sill WALTER RALEGH. 

Aiitonio dc Berreo, the governor of San Joseph, tlie capital 
of the Spanish settlement there, for the destruction of eight 
men, whom De Berreo liad betrayed into tlie woods, in the 
prccedincf year, under amicable pretences. In the execu- 
tion of liis purjx)se, Ralegh manifested an indifference to 
human suffering, which, however disregarded by conquer- 
ors in general, miglit have claimed some consideration from 
a philosophical warrior. Justifying his conduct to his own 
mind, with the pretence of revenging the cruelty sliown 
by De Berreo to the native princes of tlie soil, and explain- 
ing it to his country, by the expediency of not leaving a 
hostile colony to annoy Imn on his return from Guiana, 
Rjilegh stormed and burned the city, taking De Berreo^ 
prisoner, and carrying him to his own^ucssel. 

To this commander he made, however, every reparation 
in his power for tlie injury done him, by treating him in 
such a manner as his rank required, and his character 
merited, De Berreo as Ralegh affirms, " being both very 
valiant and liberal, a gentleman of great assuredness, and 
of a great heart." From him Ralegh learned that Guiana 
was six hundred miles farther from the sea than he had 
been before informed ; but this fact he sedulously concealed 
from his companions, who would have been dismayed by 
tlie intelligence. He tlien proceeded four hundred miles 
of this journey, leaving his ships at anchor, and taking 
with him the small barges and an old galley, in which he 
contrived with great inconvenience to stow one hundred 
persons ; but the lateness of the season, and the overffow- 
ing of the rivers, prevented them from reaching what lie 
expected to prove the vicinity of El Dorado, the object of 
the enterprise. The effect of R^ilegh's labors was, in fact, 
little else tlian a more extensive investigation of the coun- 
try than had hitlierto been made ; and the surrender into 
his liands of several petty princes, to whom he extolled tlie 
name of Elizabeth, and showed lier picture, wliich, he de- 
clares, " they so admired and honored, as it had been easy 
to have made them idolatrous thereof" Such was the 
flattery witli which even Ralegh did not disdain to season 
his works.* 

Of the country tlirougli which lie passed, and of its pro- 
duce, botli mineral and vegetable, he has given a long and 

• Voyage to Guiana. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 69 

minute account ; the fidelity of which, from some appear- 
ances of exaggeration, luis been generally doubted. 

To tlic advocates of Ralegh the description of hig pro- 
gress through Guiana has appeared, from internal evi- 
dence, to be written in good faith ; and to be a genuine nar- 
rative, coming from the pen of an ingenuous but lively 
' writer : by others, less credulous, it has been thought that 
the imagination of Ralegh, heightened by a sanguine tem- 
per, gave splendor to that scenery, and especially to those 
hills which he describes to bo sparkling " with stones of 
the color of gold and silver ;" and that it was his object, as 
it undoubtedly seemed to be his interest, to heighten the 
representation of tliese appearances. Respecting these 
accounts, the veracily of llalegh was, at a subsequent pe- 
riod of his life, strictly called to account, and mercilessly 
weighed ; and posterity has, in this point, been scarcely 
more favorable to him than his contemporaries. 

The results of his enterprise were found to be rather 
surmises than facts, dreams of splendor instead of realiza- 
tions of value. It is scarcely too harsh a judgment to af- 
firm, that the credit of Ralegh was considerably shaken 
by the narrative which he penned, upon his return to Eng- 
land. 

His statements respecting the mineral productions of 
Guiana were, in the first place, rash and unqualified, and, 
to say the least, threw some degree of doubt upon his dis- 
crimination in such matters. In alluding to them, he thus 
expresses himself: — " For the rest, which myself have 
seen, I will promise these tilings that follow, and know 
to be true. Those who are desirous to discover and to 
see many nations may be satisfied within this river 
(Oronooko,) which bringeth forth so many arms and 
branches, leading to several counties and provinces, about 
2000 miles east and west, and 800 miles north and south, 
and of these tlie most rich either in gold or in other mer- 
chandises. The common soldier .shall here fight for 
gold, and pay himself, instead of pence, with plates of 
half a foot broad, whereas he breaketh his bones in other 
wars for provant and penury."* Assertions such as these, 
and promises of the most dazzling and alluring nature, 
abound in the narrative of his first voyage to Guiana ; a 



VoyHg*; toGuiann. 



70 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

work calculated in the higliest degree to ensnare tlie fiincy 
of tiie adventurous and speculative part of the community, 
and obviously written with that intention. Every circum- 
stance whicii he relates is touched witli the coloruig of 
fancy or of artifice; every stone wliich the travellers 
picked up is said to promise " gold or silver by its com- 
plexion ;" the hills, too, abound witii tliat description of ore 
" called by the Sptmiards madrc del oro ;" in short, the 
narrative reminds the reader of the well-known description 
of Calypso's island, where all was allurement, and seeming 
lu.vurianco of goodness. And the notion of fiction becomes 
irresistible, and is confirmed, when the autlior proceeds 
to tell us of a tribe in Guiana " havim]^ their eyes in their 
Bhoulders, and their mouths in the mWHle of their breasts, 
and a long train of hair growing backward between their 
slioulders ;" wliich, he continues, " though it may be thought 
a mere fable, yet for mine own part I am resolved it is true, 
because every child in the provinces of Arromaia and Ca- 
nuri affirm tlie same."* Afler such a specimen of fabulous 
composition as this, it is almost needless to remark, that 
Ralegh's accounts of the climate, even allowing for varia- 
tions of tune, are wholly at variance with truth, and are 
evidently tinged with i)artiality. According to his account, 
tlie country is so healthful, that, notwitlistanding every 
possible imprudence on the part of his companions, they 
found no calcntura,f nor other of those pestilent diseases 
which dwell in all hot regions." A very different de- 
scription is, nevertlieless, afforded by the intelligent Doctor 
Bancroft, who visited it in 1796 : by him, we are informed, 
that the natives were liable to a frightful and contagious 
species of leprosy, and that intermitting fevers were ende- 
miaJ near the sea.| Subsequent travellers have also de- 
nounced the climate as aguish, and likely to engender 
malignant fevers; circumstances wiiich are easily to bo 
accounted for by the inundations, and by tlie masses of 
animal and vegetable matter which settle and putrefy in 
tiie waters, occasioned by tlie heavy rains. 5 

This discrepancy between the accounts given by Ralegh 
and those furnished by other travellers is the more remarkar 



* Voyage to Guiana. t Interinittent fever, or ague. 

I Bancrofl's Essay on the Natural History uf Guiann, p. 397. 

§ Malte Brun, vol. v. pail 2, p. 554 , from Lcblond de la FiSvre Jaune. 



MFE OK P\n WAI.TFn nAr.KCIt. 71 

blc in this instance, bnrmiso, wliorcvor r fuvorahlo roport 
of flio Hoil or pr(Hluc(3 could l)0 conveyed, tlio details which 
Ralon;-h'a pon allords correspond almost exactly with thoso 
of otiicr writers on (iiiiana. In his representations of the 
variety and occasional "randenr of the scenery, of tho 
luxuriance and nature ot the timber, and of the variations 
of tho seasons, he is borne out by the tostiinony of less in- 
terested authors;* and he apju-ars to have studied and 
described the manners, and religious superstitions of the 
natives, witli threat accuracy.! 

In mititjation of the strong cliargcs of exajvgcration 
brought against Iljilcgh, it must bo observed, that extrava- 
gant notions at that time prevailed in Europe respc^cting 
the treasures of (Juiana; not, as Dr. Bancroft, at a imich 
later pericnl, remarks, " perhaps wholly chimericiil ;" in his 
opinion, Guiana, contained " undoubU^dly rnintjs of gold 
and silver, since the Spaniards have (liscov»!red some near 
the river Oronooko."| In reply to tliis assertion, it may 
be observed, that little importance ought to be ii,t1a,ch(!d to 
the popular notions of the times, this nigion lu-ing tlimi al- 
most unexplored. Of (luiana, Ralegh niuiarks, that it 
was in his time " unsacked, unwrought," her surface! nn- 
torn by the sj)oiler, her grav(!s unopened lor gold," and it 
remained, during the lai)sc of two successive centuries, 
almost ctpjally unknown, until IJiincrofl, a traveller un- 
versed, as lie avows himsc^lf, in scii^ntific lore, visited it 
in 1790. This ingenious and j)l(;asing writer asfTibes the 
jmcertainty which preva.ilf;d res|)ectiiig tlu; iriinenil |)ro- 
duce of Guiana to tlie policy of the Dutch, to whom it was 
ceded in 1674, by the Knglisli, in ex<;hange for New- 
York.} By the Dutch it was ])lanted with canes ; and the 
discovery and working of minf-s prohibited, from the expe- 
rience of those ill (iffects which accrued to Sjjain f VfHu her 
acquisitions of Peru and Chili. || The accoimt of Mimcrod, 
which is somewhat in fiivor of Ralegh's veracity, must, 
however, yield to that of later and more able observers of 
the region in question. No precious metals have, to this 
day, been discovered in Guiana, few of the minerals being 



* See Olilyg, p. 88. 

f Sc« Uiinrroft, pp. 13. 17. -i?. AIho, arcouiit nf f;iiinna in Clnircliill's 
lollcclion, vol. V. p. .'j'l.^. 
} Baiirion, p 'n. § riiiil. p i:i. \l U>u\. p. 22. 



72 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH 

metalliferous ; and the medicinal plants of Guiana consti- 
tuting its most valuable produce.* 

The credulity, or rather, as it has been considered by 
the world, the falsehood of Ralegh, may be extenuated by 
the fact, tliat he was neither the first traveller nor the last 
that extolled the treasures of Guiana upon his personal ob- 
servation. In 1541, Philip de Hutten, a German knight, 
had described the houses of a certain town there which he 
had visited " to shine as if they had been overlaid with 
gold." It has since been conjectured, that he may have 
mistaken talc for gold, an error which may also have been 
committed by Ralegh, f Sul)sequently to Ralegh's first 
expedition in 1609, Robert Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt, 
again investigated Guiana, with a design of planting it, 
and with a patent from James I. to that effect. This gen- 
tleman, both from his own observation, and from intelli- 
gence afforded him by the inhabitants of Trinidad, con- 
firmed, in most particulars, the account of Ralegh, and 
evinced a degree of faith scarcely less than that displayed 
by his predecessor, in the existence of remote treasures 
within the bosom of Guiana ; he extolled, in high terms, 
Ralegh's narrative, which he calls an " effectual and faith- 
ful account;" praising, at the same time, the hardihood 
with which Ralegh had pursued an enterprise which was 
only to be frustrated by grievous and unforeseen acci- 
dents.|: 

This tribute, proceeding from a rival navigator, and so 
sliortly after the first voyage to Guiana, might be consider- 
ed as affording material evidence in favor of Ralegh's vera- 
city, were it borne out by the investigations of later times. 
But the notions of Guiana which prevailed in Ralegh's day, 
have, by modem research, been proved to resemble the 
wildest and most improbable dreams of romance. By many, 
even intelligent persons, of the 16th and 17th centuries, 
the story of the Lake Panama, tlie sands of which were 
said to be of gold, was not discredited, and a belief was en- 
tertained in the existence of the fabulous city of Manoa, or 
El Dorado, near the river Oronooko. The popular desig- 
nation of the country was indeed, "El Dorado," or in some 



* Malte Brun's Geography, vol. v. part 2. p. 555. 
t Malte Biiin, vol. v. part 2. p. 563. 
I Harleiari Miscellany, vol. iii. p. 174. 



lAVE OF SIK WALTER KAl.KUH. 73 

jiarts, the country of the Amazons ; Guiana being a name 
;i[}p!ic<l to it bj' the Indians.* Little, in sliort, was known 
of it ; oven the celebrated Camden adopted Ralegh's highly 
colored descriptions without a doubt, referring the reader of 
his own pages to an " elegant book" of Sir Walter Ralegh's, 
wherein he most accurately describeth the countries, " as 
if he had been born and bred there."! 

No sooner had Ralegh returned to England, than he felt 
t!ie full extent of those annoyancevS and inconveniences 
which a sanguine disposition experiences from the in- 
credulous, or perhaps slanderous portion of the community. 
Tie brought home, it is true, a quantity of ore, which was 
jjroved by the comptroller of the Mint, and in Goldsmith's 
Hall, and was found to contain 26.900 pounds a ton.|: 
By some persons, the quality of this gold was disputed ; by 
others, it was asserted that it had been purchased in Bar- 
bary, carried on to Guiana, and afterwards conveyed to this 
country. It is possible that Queen Elizabeth was some- 
what influenced by these rumors ; for although she received 
Ralegh again into her favor, she gave him no assurance of 
assistance in any luture voyage to Guiana, He represented, 
indeed, the capability of retaining tiie whole empire of 
Guiana by the erection of one large fort or town ; and the 
facility of reuniting companies, scattered over the coun- 
try, by the great river Oronooko. Tiiis territory had been 
already offered to Henry the Seventh by Columbus, whose 
representations of its riches were thought to be incredible ; 
and Elizabeth appears to have adopted, in this instance, the 
cautious policy of her grandfather, whom, in many points, 
siie resembled. Ralegh concludes his work by declaring 
that it would "ill sort with the favors that he had received 
to abuse her Highness the Queen with fables or imagina- 
tions ;" and, recommending her to employ all those soldiers 
and officers who are younger brethren in the enterprise, he 
also expresses his conviction, that if his counsels were fol- 
lowed, " there would soon be a house of contractation of more 
receipt for Guiana than there is now in Seville for the West 
Indies."^ But neither this scheme nor any other, for the 
colonization of Guiana, was pursued by Elizabeth, who was 

♦ Bancroft, p. 281. t Camden, p. 444. 

I Note in Cayley, to Narrative of Discovery of Guiana, vol. ii. p. 165. 
{ Disrov. Guiana, Birch, vol. ii. p. 234. - 

G 



74 MFK OF SIR WALTER RALROH. 

rithor (Ictorrpd by tho oxponso of such a projoct, or donbt- 

t'lil ol'tlit" Inilli of l?al(^!fli'y HliitoiuciitH. Yet, in tlie lollow- 

in<j yt!iir, lie iitraiii sent (.nit two ships at liiw own oxprnse, 

under (lie comniiuid of ('aptaiti K(>yiiiiH, witli tlio aid of 

not)/, advancod to liiiii l)y the Lord Treasurer, and a new 

ship, the very liull of which stoml itw owner, Sir Robert 

Cee.il, KM)/.* KeyniiH, on his retnrn, pid)lisl\ed an account 

of further discoveries, and dedicated the work to Rak'j;)i.f 

The v<»ya<i;e to (uiiana, with its aciinisition of ijreat 

riches in perspective, fended >rreafly to reuistate Ralejjfh in 

tlie tiivor of JOlizuheth, who justly testified iier approbation 

of exerliouH which tended to improve nautical skill, to ex- 

inw. lend llie Ilritish power, and to increase the contents 

of her treasury. 



CHAPTER III. 

Tho Islnnil VoynRO !— Mortifirntioiis HiiKtniiiod Ity Rnlfigli:— Fniliire of 
till" HxiHNliUon. — Stnto oC AH'iiirs lit Iloiiu'. — IVclinc niul siibtioqiicn 
Uiiiii of lOutiux : — Thu ii^liiiio wliidi Ualcgli litui in that Alluir. 

irq- The Bicprc of Cadiz, justly called by Lord Clar- 
' cndon " Essex fortunatest picce,^" was shortly fol- 
lowed by an enterprise siiiiilnr in its object and arraufje- 
nienf, but fiir less brilliant in the success of its operations. 
Of tiiis expedition, which, from the nature of its destina- 
tion, was called the Island Voyajje, Rjileijh would probably 
have had the conunand, had not the superior influeupo of 
Kssex intervened. The (iueen was now entirely recon- 
ciled to iiiiu who had explored (Iiiiana, and assisted in the 
reduction of (.^adiz ; and, alfluni;fh she continued for some 
tiim^ to suspend Raleijh from his jxist as ca])tain of the 
fjuard, she suffered him, early in the sprin<j, to entertain 
ho|)(^s of beinsj allowed to resume that office. In June, Ra- 
lejjfh beinjj iiresenfed to her by Sir Robert (^ecil, he was 
rectMved with fjreat affability, rodo in her majesty's train 
the sami> eveninjT, and was permit tinl entrance into her 
privy cbaniber, w^tJi tlu^ adviuita^c of holdiu<j conferences 

*CnyIey, (Vom Sydney riiivrs. 284. f Birch, vol. i. p. 30. 

) rnrnllol botwuun Khhox nnil niu-kinj^hnin. Koliquin Wottonim, \t. 31. 



MFU OK HIK WAl.TKlt UAI.K(il( 75 

willi iior, in tiic suiiiu inaiuiur uh bufuro liis biiniHiiiiiont 
from court.* 

Uncl(;r llicsc favorabl6 circuinstunccti, ami Bocondod by 
tlic intrrcHl, of tlic- two (Iccils, wlio wvrr. at, tlint, tiiiio liis 
|)ovv«mI"ii1 Irit.MidH, Ilal(!;jl» iipiM'iircd to liold a Hlatioii in (ho 
quoon'H liivor, wliich niifrliL juKlify (!X|)C(-tutioiiH of Uiinij 
h(Micofor\vard tin; ciiicf in (-oinniiind on any maritime nii- 
dortakinij of <Ianijf'r iind rc.s|)onsil)ilil.y ; fi)r ho wan ii.t IliiH 
time unduubt(;dly lh*> most approvrd and (-xixTioncc?!! naviil 
olfic^or that Fjliy.al)(>lh coidd appoint. J01fm;,rliam wii.s ill, 
an<l declined .ncrvico ; and llavvkinH and J)riil(i! woi'o no 
more, tlioso fjrcat men haviti^ died dwiiiitr iIk; prcccdinf!; 
year, within two monlliH of each oIIkt, from th<.' olli'ctH of 
disaj)|M)intm(;nt and an.vii-ty in an nn.snccc.ssful (;,\pc(liti(»n 
ajjiun.st tlio SpaniardH. 'J'o Italojfii, tJicn^foro, mij^ht tho 
most im|)ortant trnst.s iippear niiturally lo hcloiif.^, hy rii^lit 
of airi! and chanuttcr. 

IJnt lOlizahclh n(^vor, until I'/Khcx row; to miinliood, <liH- 
jilaycd licr feminine we.'iknesH in ilH utmost extent, ; nor did 
.she, durin;jf tli(! Kud and almost dey;radint,'' residiK! of \u'v 
days, ever ceas(; to act, from impulses, which were stinui- 
laled eitli(!r hy the liopi^s of a pn.ssi(Miii,l(! atliu;lim(;nt, or hy 
tli(^ stin;i;s of unreipiited atli-ction. 'ro<rr!i,tiiy the anihitiou 
of her favorite, hIk! pliicful him, therel()re, without oik; con- 
Bid(!ratioii of justice, at tin; \u;iu\ ol'an expedition which lio 
WiiK l)ut, ]»iirliii,lly (|U!i,lilied to direct. ']'h(;r(! arc;, pmhiihly, 
Onv situations which reipiin; mori; ])ati(;nt endurance, tlian 
tliiit of a man who is (tonseicais of his own powers; who iH 
confident, not from arrofjjance, hut experiiiiici!, of hiw ahili- 
tioH ; and thirstinjr fi)r an honorahli! distinction, and wlio 
findH him,stdf,with unmerit.ed partiality, i)ln.ced beneath tho 
l(!V(d of on<; who lias neither ecpial idainiH to distinction, 
nor strength of intidlect snlficif'iit to create Huch (dainiH 
liy future servi<;t>i. Such wax the situation, and such may 
liave been tlie sentini(;nts, (»f Kaleirji on s(!einj^ IOs,m(!x pro- 
motOfl to a principal post; whilst In;, far mon; advanced in 
luiowlediff, as well as in years, was re<)nired U) play a«uh- 
ordinafn |ijirt (o a man in mental capacity frreatly his in- 
ferior. ]''rom these fijelin^s, secrcit, hut doubtless strong, 
it is prol)able that nnich of Jlalcjffh'H Huhseiiuent avcM'sion to 
the unfortunate Ehscx proccodod ; and it is ulao proha hie, t hat 



Hydin-y I'njK.Trt, vol ii. 'Jl, i!7. 4J. ■14. 51. 



76 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

from this irritating source, and from a consciousness of in- 
feriority on the part of the Earl, some of the disasters, and 
many of the annoyances of their common undertaking, 
arose. 

Essex ^was, however, at this time intoxicated with suc- 
cess; and well has he been described as having been 
" drawn into the fatal circle" of a public career, for which 
he was by nature but indifferently calculated. This island 
voyage was, indeed, the beginning of his decline in pyblic 
estimation, and consequently in the confidence of his royal 
mistress, who was ever attentive to the indications of popu- 
lar opinion.* 

The purpose of Queen Elizabeth, in this her last under- 
taking against the Spaniards, was to destroy their fleet at 
FeiTol, or any of their vessels containing treasures from 
the West Indies ; and to conquer and garrison the Azore 
islands, that of Terceira, the most important, although not 
the largest, being especially marked out as an object of 
attack.! 

The fleet was divided into three squadrons, commanded 
by Essex, X.ord Thomas Howard, and, lastly, Ralegh. Un- 
der Essex, Sir Charles Blount, afterwards Lord Momitjoy, 
commanded the land forces, an appointment which gave 
great offence to Sir Francis Vere, who was marshal of the 
army. It appears, also, that Ralegli had a concern in 
some quarrel with Vtjre ; for Essex, on arriving at Wey- 
mouth, deemed it expedient to insist upon the two knights 
shaking hands, an act of reconciliation which was per- 
formed, according to Sir Francis Vere, " the more will- 
ingly, because there had nothing passed between us to 
blemish reputation."t 

Between De Vere arid Ralegh there was, however, a 
great degree of enmity ; a circumstance which the former, 
in his commentaries, attribstcs to envy of the notice taken 
of him by the Earl of Essex. It was arranged that Ralegh 
should take precedence of De Vere by sea ; and tliat De 
Vere, in his capacity as marshal, should have the prece- 
dence by land. 5 It was an odditional cause of mortifica- 
tion to Ralegh in this voyage, that the principal officers 
were mostly either his personal foes, or, what amounted 
nearly to the same, the jwculiar friends of Essex. Even 

* Parallel between Kisffx and Riickp. ^. t Oldys, iii. 

J Cnmilrn, v 471 f Wtng Frittan Art Vi'Tf. 



LIFE OF SIR WAJ-TER RALEGH. * 77 

Sir Charles Blount, recently the rival of the Earl, was 
now his sworn ally, becoming afterwards, indeed, his rela- 
tion, by his scandalous marriage with Penelope Devereux, 
the sister of the Earl, and even at the time of her union 
witli Mountjoy the wife of Lord Rich. Trifling and hasty 
disputes become to generous minds, in some cases, induce- 
ments to good-will and motives to good actions. Such 
was the nature of Essex, that he could not only forgive but 
cherish those who manfully and honorably opposed him. 
It was still fresh in the memory of the people, that Blount 
had excited the jealousy of the Earl by wearing round his 
arm a queen of chess enamelled, which had been given 
him by Elizabeth, as a reward for his success in the tilt- 
yard. Some unguarded expressions, implying tiiat " every 
fool had now Iiis favor," were repeated from Essex to 
Blount, who immediately challenged him. They fought 
in Marybone Park, and Essex was wounded in the thigh. 
The affair came to the ears of the Queen, who swore her 
hereditary oath (by God's death) that she "would have 
some one take Essex down, and teach lilm manners."* 
This discipline restored peace, and the rivals became 
friends.f Sir George Carew was appointed lieutenant of 
the ordnance, and Sir Christopher Blount chief colonel. 
These men were principally adherents or friends of Essex, 
and were joined by his partisan, and subsequently fellow- 
sufferer, the Earl of Southampton, and by various other 
noblemen and knights, all \yith " their feathers waving and 
gay clothes," a vanity peculiar to the Engli^i in war, ac- 
cording to the opinion of Camden. The important charge 
of victualling the forces having been assigned to Ralegh, 
he undertook to find provisions during three months for 
6,000 men, at the rate of nine-pence per diem. Bridewell, 
Winchester House, and Durham House, were given to 
him as magazines. Ralegli protesting tliat he should be a 
loser by this agreement, it was reniarked, that " few peo- 
ple were of that opinion except himself"]: After the fleet 
had been two days at sea, directions were given to each 
squadron to proceed severally to Ferrol and to the Groyne 
(Corunna), in order to surprise a portion of the Spanish 
fleet in their liarbors, and to intercept other of its squad- 
rons, on their passage from India, at the Azores. By this 

* Camden, p. 552. t Naunton'a Ucgalia Fraginenta, p. 19. 

1 Collins'B Sydney Papers, vol. ii. .17—14 

G2 



78 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. - 

plan the English expcctetl to gain the sole sovereigfnly of 
the wetui ; and Essox o-nvo ovit o^x^nly, tJiat ho intended 
citlier to doteat tJie Sptiish floot. or to sncritice himself 
for his country. Scarcely wore the squadrons forty leagues 
from Plynioutli, when a tempest assjiiletl them. A thick 
mist envelopeil every object ; and the thunder was only 
surpassed in horror by the aofitated waves, upon wliich the 
vessels roile jxiwerless. This warfare of tlie elements 
lasted four days, and completely subtlned the courage of 
the stoutest hearts, so tJiat all were rejoiced to liail the 
friendly harlx^r of Plymouth, and of other towns on that 
cotist. The sliip of Lord Howard of Effinghajn, the High 
Admiral, was shattered, and the sailors were so intimidated, 
that some of tJiem, to the disgroce of Englishmen, with- 
drew to their peaceful homes on sliore.* At>er some re- 
cruiting, the fleet again s*.^t s;iil, but were asjain detained 
R whole month by weatlier in tlie Downis, ancl their provi- 
sions all spent- At that time there were no meajis of 
quickly replenishing such diminished stores. It became 
necessary to disbjind all the land forces, to send away 
maiiy of tlie smaller ships, ajid to abandon nil thoughts of 
coing either to Ferrol or tlio Croyne. The chief officers 
tlien deliberated as to the propriety of proceeding to the 
Azores, and were all in favor of that undertaking except 
Vere, who maintained the har.ard, and jxisitive dishonor, of 
such an enterprise. Ujmn this dilemma, Essex and Ralegh 
hastened to tlie Queen, whi\ afler listening to the extrata- 

fant scheme of Essex, to attack the Spanish fleet at all 
azards, left it to her commanders to determine their own 
course. 

After tlie two officers hatl returned to Plymouth, the 
armament was at length put to sea again, but was again 
sepaniteil when within sight of Sixiin ; and the cross-yartl 
of Ralegh's ship Iving broken, he was lefl l)ehind the rest. 
In tliis situation, he in vain endeavort^l to assist the de- 
signs of Essex, by sending a piimace after liim with the 
information that the Spanish fleet had letl Ferrol tor the 
Azores. Meanwhile Essex and his comjninions had re- 
solved to siil directly for the Azores, having seen the im- 
practicability of attempting to fire the Spjuiiartls in tiieir 
own haurbor.t Ralegh had endeavored to take the same 

* Csindon t Cwiiidon, |> -tTS 



HFK OF SIK WALTER RALEGH. 7^ 

course, but, lmvin<j lost Iiis track, he rpjoinod not tlie fleet 
until it had reached the island of Flores, where lie found 
Es.-^ex tilled witii raije and suspicion against him. Essex, 
however, received hiiu with ajiparent kindness, and apolo- 
gized that he had previously sent dispatches to IJng^land, 
brandiuij Ralejjfh ns a deserter of the fleet; a course to 
which tlie natural impetuosity of P]ssex, ajid the officious 
suggestions of the base spirits that often tlirong around tlie 
rasii and thoughtless, had impelled him. 

Whilst the fleet lay at anchor before Flores, a council 
of war was held to discuss the expediency of conquerin"[ 
and laying waste, or of garrisoning these islands, which 
iifibrded places of refreshment to the Spanish sliips trading 
to the Indies. It was decided that Terceira should not be 
attempted until after the smaller islands had been subdued. 
To Essex and to Ralegh were assigned the capture of 
Fayall; to the Lord Thomas Howard and Sir Francis 
Vere, that of Gratiosa ; to Lord Mount joy and Sir Christo- 
pher Blount, St. Michael's ; and Pitle, most fruitful in 
vines, was assigned to the Netherland squadri>n. 

Before quitting Flores, Ralegh, with several companions, 
ventured to ramble into the island, enjoying probably the 
freshness and delicious change which tbat beautiful island, 
deriving its name from its flowers, aftbrded to the mind, 
after a long voyage on the inclement ocean. Whilst thus 
indulging, and availing himself of the opportunity of allow- 
ing his mariners to get supplies of water, Ralegh was 
hastily sunmioned to follow Essex to Fayall, whither that 
commander, impatient of delay, had sailed before this ap- 
prizal. 

On their arrival at Fayall, they cast anchor near the 
principal town, Hocta, but nowhere descried Essex, or any 
part of his squadron. Delighted Avith the aspect and im- 
portance of the town, Ralegh called together a council of 
the officers, to determine whether they should attack it, or 
wait until the arrival of tlieir chief, it was determined to 
delay proceedings for a tew days, a i)lan wiiich was pur- 
sued" until the fourth day, wlien, Essex not appearing, 
Ralegh resolved to take in water, guarding his ships for 
that purpose, though without any expectation of aimoyance 
from the enemy's forts. In this idea he was, howevet-, 
mistaken; and, meeting with undoubted signs of resistance 
from the Spanish garrison, the iiigli spirit of Ralegh, and 



80 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

the eagerness of his sailors, would not pennit hun to recede 
in his undertaking. With two hundred and sixty men, 
therefore, he resolved to attack a force double that number ; 
and, placing his ordnance as near the shore as possible, he 
rowed into a species of harbor which was guarded by high 
rocks. In the course of this exploit, the courage of !&,- 
legh's crew failing under a heavy fire, he reproached them 
in vehement language, ordering his own barge to be 
rowed down full upon the rocks, and bidding tliose 
who were not panic-struck to follow him. Upon this 
tliere was an instant revival of hope and of valor ; and 
Ralegh, landing among fire and shot, was followed by 
many officers of distinction to the narrow entrance, having, 
as it seemed, about him a spell which secured liim firom 
danger and intimidated the enemy. The Spaniards, see- 
ing his force thicken, retreated to the woods ; and Ralegh, 
recruited from the Netherland squadron, was soon able to 
prepare the town to receive Essex on his arrival.* On the 
following day that commander, who had been tracking the 
ocean in search of the Spanish fleet, came to Fayall. Sir 
Gilly Merrick, one of his creatures, who had opposed the 
storming of tlie town, represented to him that Ralegh had 
merely seized an opportunity of signalizing hmiself with- 
out tlie co-operation of his colleague. This account was 
eagerly received and believed by Essex, who had long 
suspected ill-will on the part of Ralegh towards himself; 
yet he disdained to take an ungenerous advantage of his 
authority to oppress one so much his superior in age and 
experience. He rejected, therefore, the counsels of some 
of his officers to put Ralegh to death, and of others to 
cashier him ; altliough the latter punishment was infficted 
on some of his companions. Ralegh was, however, smn- 
moned to appear before tlie commander-m-chief, and se- 
verely reprimanded by him for having broken tlie disci- 
pline of war, and landed his troops without being authorized 
by the command of the general. This act of insubordina- 
tion had, he observed, been forbidden under pain of deatli. 
To this address Ralegh replied by affirming, tliat the three 
principal commanders, of whom he was one, were exempts 
ed from this prohibition, which he had only been induced 
to infringe from tlie necessity of taking in water. He 

♦ Oldys, p. 117. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 81 

was then exhorted by Lord Thomas Howard to acknow- 
ledge his error, an injunction with which he complied; 
and after which, he, and the captains who had been cash- 
iered, were received into favor. 

Essex appeared to be so far reconciled to Ralegh, that 
he consented to rest in the temporary residence in which 
Ralegh had taken up his abode in the town. Ralegh also 
invited hun to supper ; a request with which Essex, who 
is said to have preferred the society and conversation of 
his rival to that of many others whom he appeared to favor, 
seemed evidently disposed to comply. 

Upon being apprized of this arrangement, Sir Christopher 
Blount remarked, that " he thought my lord would not sup 
at all ■* an observation which called forth from Ralegh the 
remark, that " as for Sir Christopher's owni appetite, he 
might, Avhen he was invi^f d, disable it at pleasure ; but if 
the Eai-1 would stay, he should be glad of his company."* 
By the mediation of Lord Thomas Howard, who, in the 
most becoming manner, acted as umpire between them, 
the generous Essex and his comrade were, however, 
effectually reconciled for the present time, notwithstanding 
the endeavors of base spirits to sever them. 

From Fayall, Essex and his squadron sailed for Gratiosa, 
which submitted itself to tlie English arms. On landing 
at tliis island, the generous yet imprudent temper of Essex 
displayed itself, in his declining to face the enemy's forts 
with a greater proportion of arms and armor than the' 
poor sailors who rowed his barge to shore ;t and here he 
again experienced that ill fortune which his warm admirer 
Camden attributed to the evil influence of his horoscope, 
but which may here be ascribed to a deficiency in caution, 
and a too great facility m following the advice of others. 
For some reasons, of little moment, he tarried not long 
enough at Gratiosa to look out for the Spanish fleet, gen- 
erally returning at this season from the Indies. He sailed 
to St. Michael's, and had the mortification of learning, 
that about an hour or two afterwards those very ships had; 
touched at Gratiosa.J 

After many vain attempts to return to Gratiosa, and to 
attack the enemy, the fleet set sail for England, meeting 
on their passage with heavy storms, which in the mean- 

* Oldys, 122. \ Ibid. J Camden, p. 47 



82 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

time annihilated a Spanish armament, which was in prepa- 
ration to sail against England from the Ferrol ; Heaven 
thus seeming to interpose its aid where the strength of 
man was ineffectual to destroy. By the total loss of the 
Spanish fleet, a great slaughter between tlie two nations 
was tlius prevented ; and the English warriors, after some 
distress, came safely to their native shores. Ralegh was 
in great necessity for water, and, whilst suffering from 
that greatest of all deficiencies, beheld the Earl of Essex 
at a distance, deprived in a recent storm of every compan- 
ion vessel, except two little barks. This vicissitude to him 
who had but lately left England, followed by a numerous 
fleet, appeared to an eye-witness* almost typical of the 
varying destiny by which the eventful tenor of the* Earl's 
life was, in no ordinary degree, chequered. Dn his return 
to the court, tlie impatient indignation of the Queen, and 
the murmurs of the people, a waited him ; and Sir Francis 
Vere, formerly his warm partisan, and still attached to 
him, could with some difficulty assuage the anger of Eliza- 
beth, balancing her interests as a sovereign with her pri- 
vate inclinations.! 

The island voyage, comprising a scheme so admirably 
concerted, that it might have almost wholly annihilated 
the Spanish navy, was totally unsuccessful, as far as the 
public mterests were concerned ; some prizes were obtain- 
ed by Ralegh, and much plunder by Essex J ; yet the result 
of this expedition was injurious to the reputation of each 
of these gallant commanders. The people were unanunous 
in their censures of Ralegh, whose usual unpopularity was 
increased by the circumstances of his variance with Essex, 
although his exploits were generally more commended 
than those of the Earl. Essex, on the other hand, tlie idol 
of the lower classes, was blamed by intelligent persons for 
his violence and raslmess, and was thought to have acted 
with injustice towards Ralegh, in exposing so experienced 
and approved a navigator to public inquiry into his con- 
duct. J Confidence between these two individuals had long 
been suspended by a very slender thread of regard : it had 
been shaken in the Cadiz expedition, in which Ralegh felt 

* Sir Arthur Gorges. OUlys, 125. 

t Note from Vcre's Commentaries in Biog. * | Camden, p. 475, 

§ Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 68. 74. 



LIPP, OF HIR WAI.'ir.U ItAI.RGir. 83 

that lie had boon unduly kept back fioin services of dis- 
tinction ; and the events of the recent enterprise had con- 
firmed these impressions. This state of feeling between 
the two parties was discreditable to both, and to Essex fa- 
tally injurious. On Jiis part, this rivalship was maintained 
with a spirit of honor, which was nobly displayed in the 
atiair of Flores, when asked to put Ralegh upon his trial : 
" That," he replied, " would I do, were he my friend." 
But Ralejjh possessed not a disposition so generous as tliat 
of his unfortunate enemy ; and aided by others more subtle 
tiian himself, if he did not accelerate the ruin of the im- 
prudent Essex, he lent no benevolent aid to arrest the pro- 
gress of his destruction. Whilst distrust on the one hand, 
and dislike on the other, rankled in the minds of both par- 
ties, a close observer of each individual gave this accoimt 
of the deportment of Sir Walter towards the Earl : — " Sir 
Walter Ilalegh's carriage to my Lord of Essex, is with 
tlie cunningest respect, and deepest humility, that ever I 
saw or have trowed."* 

But no machinations on the part of Ralegh, could liave 
ruined Essex had he retained the friendship of the Lord 
Treasurer Burleigh, the guardian and adviser of his youth. 
This veteran statesman, who is said to have controlled tlio 
court at pleasure for thirty years, was now in tiie decline 
of life, but in the full vigor of his faculties, and in the height 
of his influence. Designated by Queen I]lizabeth with 
the name of " her spirit," from the celerity with which he 
dispatched public business, Burleigh was unable to allot 
any portion of his time to his own private recreations; 
serving a mistress, who was scarcely induced by any a|)ol- 
ogy less than a last illness to give up the closest attendance 
on the part of her ministers, and executing her commands 
with a degree of zeal and regularity proportionate to the 
demands made upon those requisite qualities. Yet, whilst 
permitting himself only one indulgence, that of building 
great houses, which he called " his vanity," the lord 
treasurer had found leisure carefully to superintend the 
education of Essex, and even to write him counsels con- 
cerning the nature of true nobility, to which there is a 
Latin reply extant, from the Earl, showing how well he 

* Ciylcy, p. 283., frnni Hircb's Momoirs of Quocn F.liznbetli, vol. ii. 
p. 10. 



84 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

had profited by the care of his guardian.* Notwithstanding 
these early obligations, dissensions and Jealousies liad 
arisen between k)th tlie Cecils and Lord Essex, Ralegh 
acting a conspicuous part in the management of tliat ma- 
chinery of which these court cabals wore composed. 

It had been tlie lot of Burleigh, to live to see his chil- 
dren's children to the thiitl generation.! 1' ^^'"s his still 
happier fate to behold those children not only walking in 
tlie shadow of his greatness, but pursuing the same course 
which had raised him to eminence. Of his two sons, tlie 
elder succeeded him in his title and estates ; the younger, 
bred up to business, inherited his application, his integrity, 
and, m some measure, his talents, but he displayed not tJiat 
scope of mind which had enabled the elder Burleigh to 
comprehend the true interests of his nation, to extend the 
views of Elizabeth, and to direct tliem to useful and glo- 
rious ends. 

Robert Cecil, afterwards the first Peer created by Eliza- 
beth's successor, was, at this periotl of Ralegh's life, his 
close ally ; and, witli some variations, -tlie opponent, and 
as Essex conceived, the rival of tliat impetuous Earl. The 
original cause of this aversion on tlie part of Essex, was 
his disgust at what he considered to be tlie low and dis- 
honorable machinations of Cecil, who has been aptly de- 
scribed as a courtier from tlie cradle. The immediate 
source of their mutual ill-will was tlie appointment of Sir 
Rol)ort Cecil to the office of secretary of state, during the 
absence of Essex at Cadiz. Previous to his departure, the 
earl hud entreated the queen to bestow that place upon 
Sir Thomas Bodley, recently ambassador at the Hague, 
and the munificent founder of tliat library which bears his 
name at Oxford ; a fabric which drew from the pedantic 
James the First the exclamation, that, " were he not a 
king, he would be a University man ; were he a prisoner, 
he would wish no other prison tlian tliat library, and to be 
chained together with so many good authors." But Bodley, 
although on eminent man, and one of a family who had 
suffered greatly tor the Protestant cause, was judged by 
the queen to be less adapted for the management of afliiira 
tlian Cecil, who had imbibed notions of state policy in his 

* Ellis's Original Letters, vol. ii. p. 77. and 181. 
t Ellis, 'ill series, vol. iii. p. 190. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTEn RALEGH. 85 

very infency. Elizabeth was, also, disgusted by the ex- 
travagant invectives of Essex against Cecil, and by his ill- 
timed and ill-judging panegyric of his friend. Tlie place 
was, accordingly, bestowed upon Cecil.* 

During tiie interval which elapsed between the expedi- 
tion to Cadiz and the island voyage, Ralegh, from what 
motive docs not appear, endeavored to tranquillize the fre- 
quent dissensions which arose between the belligerent fac- 
tions ; and, on one occasion, prevailed so far as to bring 
liiem together at the house of the secretary, where they 
all three dined.f For the diligence with which Ralegh 
pursued this endeavor at reconciliation, various reasons 
were assigned by the watchful observers about the court, 
wlio appear, from the documents extant, to have made the 
office of investigating into the concerns of others the busi- 
ness of their lives. By some it was thought, that Ralegh 
wished to avail himself of the joint interest of Cecil and 
Essex, in order to obtain the post of vice-chamberlain, for 
which he applied ; and this conjecture seems probable, 
from the circumstance that ho proffered to Essex a third 
part of the profits derived from prizes in the island voyage, 
to assist in the payment of the earl's debts, for the import- 
ant consideration of his influence. Whatever may liave 
been the immediate spring of his actions, these debasing 
intrigues had their effect in sullying the purity of Ralegh's 
integrity, and in subjecting his fine genius to tlie profana- 
tion of selfishness and duplicity. It is a matter of specu- 
lation, whether continuetl manoeuvres, and the habit of 
deception, are not calculated to debase and weaken the 
mind more than the commission of one actual crime ; for 
we are reluctant to allow the necessity of repentance for a 
series of daily, and apparentl}' trifling faults, and arc, there- 
fore, led on to a dangerous rei)etition. Meanwhile, Ralegh 
was assiduous in courting the friendship of the Lord 1'reas- 
urer Burleigh, not merely from regard for the virtues, or 
respect for the talents, of that gri;at man, but from the 
pitiful desire that somctiiing migiit be effected in his favor 
before Sir Robert Cecil went to France, us an ambassador 
to Henry the Fourth. It was, indeed, at the time reported, 
that botb Rulegh and the younger Cecil ardently desired 

* Camden, 1596. 

t Rowland Wliite's Letters in Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 37—44. 

n 



86 I.TFR OF SIR WALTER R A LEO If. 

to bo madR Barons, and had, says Rowland White, "a 
purpose to bo called unto it, allhon<rh' there bo no parlia- 
ment."* AccordinHy, witli the dreams of greatness in his 
head, Tlalofjh attencled the preat ninn to Dover, entertained 
liiin with a bancinet and a play, and devoted to him tliosc 
attentions which ambition oilers as a tribute to success. 
Tlie result of all these man(Euvrcs was of a minj^lcd na- 
ture. Tho ofRcc of vice-chamberlain had been promised 
to Sir Robert Sidney, and was probably never thonght of 
for Raleijh ; Queen Elizabeth not likmij men who were 
fit for military exploits, to be, in her own lan<fuapfc, '* too 
much addicted to the prcsencc-chamber."t I'^or this dia- 
apixiintnient, Raletrh obtained, throup^h the interest of 
Cecil, and the concession of Essex, the lioiior of becoming 
a privy-councillor.| 

Whilst wc deprecate servility and intrijruo, it must be 
remembered, that thero wore some parts of Ralcfjh's con- 
duct, as a courtier, more creditable to his character than 
the furtherance of his own sellisii desiirns. With liis usual 
wisdom, he saw tiuit the frequent broils between the cour- 
tiers impeded the due perlbrmance of public business ; oc- 
casioned, to use his own words, "continual uncpiietness" 
in. the mind of the Queen; and tended to pive an advan- 
tap^e to tlie enemies of the sovercip'u. Impressed by tiieso 
considerations, Rah^ph sought, and procured, a recoucilia- 
ti(Mi between I'-ssex and l,ord Howard, recently created 
lOarl of Nottinfrham, upon the score of his services in the 
S|>;inisli invasion, and at Cadiz. l']ssex had resented tho 
elevation of liOrd Howard to the title of earl, which, added 
to liis ollice of lord chamberlain, pave him precedency. 
Rut ]']lizabeth soothed tlie vanity of her favorite, by hestow- 
inp upon him the dipuity of lord marshal, which, by a 
.statute of the reipn of Henry the Eiphth, enabled all of the 
rank of earl who had that dipnity to take precedency be- 
fore their peers of the same depree.J 
, I-Q-' Raleph was now apain actively enpaped in the 
military services of Iiis country. Reports which pre- 
vailed respecting the approach of a Spanish ileetapain drew 
him into Cornwall, to assist in the preparations of defence 

* Sydney Pnpor.o, vol. ii. 120. 

t Ibiii. p. 21.— An observation which she afterwards applied to tliis very 
Sir Robert Sidney, 
t Cnnidcn, p. 470. § Camden. 



LIFE OP Sm WALTER IIAI.ICGII. 87 

in tliat county. — Shortly aflcrwnnls ho was ordcrod hy tiio 
privy-council to {riv(> his opinion of the idliiirH ol' Ireland, 
and .sonx; nunor.s jirevtiih^l oC hin htiin^ ii])pointcd lord 
deputy in Ihiit country; but, to the a(;c(!|)taii(!i; of tliiH 
ollice, Ra!e<rli, who had early wiliiessed itn da,n<rt'r9 and 
tin.xietioH, cxprcsHCMJ a (hnridc'd riduclanc(!. 

Ireland ailordcd at thiw lini(! altnoHt th(! oidy ehance of 
juinfrliufr in thoHO warliko oc(ni|mtionH, in which I'lnyliHli- 
men wero in(lul^(!d hy their inonarcliH of the Tudor line;. 
Already ha,d ne^rotiatiouH fiir a, peace; with Spain l)(;(;n 
laid before lltMiry the J'\)urth of J'Vanc*!, and proposed, hy 
that monarch, to JOIizaheth. TIk! lord Irc^aKurc-r, almost 
expirinfj with afro and infirmilies, He(;onded th(; proposition, 
upon reasouH connected with his intimah; knowiedire of 
tin; reKourccH of Eni^land ; his observation of the; 1cmp(;rof 
the pcopl<!, |)rone to H(;dition vvh(;n heavily burdencid ; and 
his fears ol' the unc(!rtainties of war.* ()f the sentinientH 
entertjiinod by Raleirh on this (liscussion wc have no me- 
morial ; hut it is ])robable that he coincided with l{url(;ii,''Ii. 
'J'he i)oj)ular faction, h(;adcd hy J'lssex, and eHd)ol(l(;n(;d by 
the? manifest inclinations of the Q,ut;en, litled up their 
voices for a contiimance of tin; struui'iLrle wlii('h ha.d, al- 
ready, proved so triumphant. I']ss(;x, who, liki; most of the 
hi;;hly-l)orii ukui of the; day, deemed no pursuit in life glo- 
rious but thai of W!i,r, bns'ilhed, as I5urlei{;h e,\pr(!HS(;H it, 
nothiufT but "war, Hlau^htcr, and blood." After a vehc;- 
nu;nt dis[)uto upon tlu; subj(;i;t, that veteran statesman, 
become almost prophetic from (;xperi(;nc(;, fjavc; his senti-, 
m(;nts to Essex m a mami(;r which mii^ht have silenced a 
less impetnou.s reasoner. "I know not," says (!anid(;n, 
sp(;akin{r of this ar{rnm(;nt l)etwe»;n (4;cil and I')ks(;x, 
with what j)resaffin<f mind he (Fiord IJurleif^h) rea(!h(;d 
f()rth a psalm-book, and silc;ntly ])ointed to this v<;rs(!: 
' .Men of blocMl shall not live out half their days.' " I'er- 
hajjs thai, v(;t,eran observer of life and ma,nn(;rs saw that 
the fjr;neroiiH but impetuous spirit of Essex would ulti- 
jnat(;ly effect his destruction : p(;rha|)H he revi(;w<;d the 
picture, doubtless often, in t.h<; course of his lonjr life, |irr;- 
sent«;d U) his observation, of feminine d(;votedness cha.nirin^ 
itH nature, like chemical substances, from sweet to hitter, 
from'thc admixture of the pungent ingrodientu of suspicion 

♦ fuMidcn, |i. Wi. 



88 MFE OF SIR WALTEK RALEGH. 

and jealousy. But Essex was destined soon to lose this 
stern monitor yet faithful friend ; Lord Burleigh dying this 
year, worn out witli the gout, and still more with the la- 
bors and anxieties of a public career, and, as his son the 
Earl of Salisbury, likewise, afterwards in his own case ex- 
pressed himself, longing for death. Whilst Burleigh lived, 
the life of Essex would have been secure from the scaffold, 
even if his indiscretion had ruined his prospects as a cour- 
tier. Queen Elizabeth, disturbed by the frequent conten- 
tions of her courtiers, and still more by the alternate inso- 
lence and submission of Esse.v, may perhaps almost have 
envied the tranquil end of her dying minister, whom she 
frequently visited after his retirement from office. Having 
arranged every temporal concern which might draw him 
back to life, Burleigh eagerly courted the approach of his 
dissolution ; and, " perceiving," as an eye-witness expresses 
it, " that his vital spirits wrestled with the power of death,"' 
cried out in an agony, ' Oh, what a heart have I that I will 
not die !' and when his breath was almost spent, and, by 
infusion of hot waters into his mouth he had recovered 
sense again, he gently reproved those that were about him, 
saying they did him wrong to call him back." Thus, with 
the last faltering motions of his lips employed in prayers and 
exhortations, died this truly great man,* whase bitterest 
adversary, as Camden affirms, " said that he envied him in 
nothing so much as for such a death in so great glorie." 
With Burleigh, the small portion of prudence which Essex 
possessed died also ; and as for Elizabeth, her support in 
difficulties, and her counsellor in peace, was gone. To 
the friends of Essex his deatli seemed, in regard to thft 
earl, as the harbinger of that ruin which follows in the 
train of thoughtless and confident security. Such was the 
dread which he entertained respecting his contest with 
Ralegh, that Puckering, the lord-keeper, prevailed upon 
liim to give his promise, tliat no furtlier rivalship should be 
displayed between them : yet this timely caution availed 
but little. One of the last festivities of Elizabetli's reign 
which she may be said to have enjoyed, gave rise, how- 
ever, to fresh contentions. On tlie celebration of tJie 
Queen's birth-day, Ralegh appeared in the tilt-yard at 
Westminster, with a degree o^' splendor which roused the 



F.llis, iii. notp, p 189 



LIFE OF Sin WALTER UALEGH. 89 

jealousy of Essex, and stimulated him, as it is said, to aim 
at the deadly injury of the knight in the usual combats. 
Ralegh possessed a suit of armor so costly as to excite the 
envy of all those who wearied themselves in a vain show, 
or were the slaves of that " vexation of spirit" which has 
wittily been described as the successor of vanity. In this 
gorgeous encasement Ralegh so much delighted, that his 
portrait was painted while wearing it ; and he is supposed 
to have figured in it on this occasion, for, in the portrait, 
his arm was decorated witli a riband which tradition as- 
serts he received from the Queen as a reward in this very 
tilt-yard, and which he carried to her majesty one morn- 
ing, to show that he had ridden a hundred and twenty 
miles the night before, in order to return to her presence.* 
The sliocs of this accomplished courtier were valued at six 
thousand pieces of gold ; his sword and belt were adorned 
with jewels ; and about his person he wore jewels to the 
value of three-score thousand pounds, one diamond alone 
being worth a hundred pounds.f Yet Ralegh, now in the 
forty-seVcnth year of his age, and disfigured, according to 
his Mm account, with a " lame leg, and deformed," could 
not, in all this splendor of appearance, cope with the gay 
and gallant bearing of Essex, whose very foibles were of a 
description to sort with the turbulence and mimic wars of 
a tournament. That which in Ralegh was design, appeared 
in Essex the overflow of an ardent and valiant heart, sac- 
rificing, at the shrine of the Queen's vanity, the tribute 
which the young and beautiful might envy. Nothing, 
however, could be more childish than the mode in wliicli 
their rivalry was carried on, as the well-known story of tlie 
tawny feathers sufficiently exemplifies. Whilst Essex was 
in disgrace with the Queen, after the celebrated inter- 
view in which he, with more natural feeling than gallantry, 
resented the royal blow on the ear, so renowned in all the 
annals of those times, he learned that Ralegh intended to 
appear on tlie following day in the tilt-yard with a gallant 
train, all splendidly accoutred in orange-colored feathers. 
Upon gaining this intelligence, Essex mustered a fiir more 
numerous company, all of whom he adorned with feathers 
similar to those worn by the Ralegh party ; and so lavish 
was he of these ensigns, that he caused two thousand of 

* Olilys, p. 145. t Ibid. 

H? 



90 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

them to be worn in the tilt-yard.* He then appeared as 
the leader of this radiant band, himself in a complete suit 
of orange color, and thus, being mistaken as the chief of 
the whole of those in orange, confounded all distinction 
between hunself and Ralegh. This "feather triumph," 
as Lord Clarendon calls it, affords a specimen of the taste 
in which civil contentions were carried on during the 
strange alternations of frivolity and wisdom by which 
Elizabeth's reign was characterized. Yet the victory of 
Essex in this petty contest was incomplete ; and on the 
following day a knight being observed in green in lieu of 
him who had figured in orange, it was remarked, that " he 
had changed his color, because he had run so ill." This 
disguised and disgraced knight is conjectured to have been 
Essex, t 

, CQQ The disturbances in Ireland recalled the attention 
of the military portion of Elizabeth's court to affairs 
of serious moment, and consultations began to be held as 
to the person most adapted to quell the furious rebellions by 
which that unhappy country was agitated. Of Elizabeth 
it has been said, and the common popular feeling W the 
time confirmed the observation, " tliat her dispensations 
were so poised as though justice and discretion had both 
stood at the beam, and seen them weighed together in due 
proportion ;J" yet her choice on this occasion implied a 
total absence of those principles of action. That Ralegh 
was the most effective man of the court, in operations of 
difficulty or in deeds of danger, appears to have been the 
prevailing opinion ; each power of his mind having been 
tried by the severe test of experience, and improved by 
the habit of constant exertion ; a habit by the aid of which 
ordinary abilities often resemble in their effects the most 
remarkable indications of genius: but Ralegh's distaste 
for the arduous office of lord deputy, accounts in some 
measure for his not being appointed to that important 
trust. 

The next person upon whom the public eye rested was 
Charles Blount, 5 who had succeeded, in 1594, to his bro- 

* Clarendon's Disparity between Essex and Bucks. Reliquse Wot- 
toniiE, p. 180. 

t Oldys, 132. t Naunlon's Fragmenfa Regalia. 

§ Blount, a name originally Norman, deriving it from Le Blound, or 
modern Le Blond ; this family being remarked for their yellow hair. Brit. 
Biog. from Camden. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 91 

ther's title of Lord Mountjoy, and of wliom the queen 
prophesied, that " he would end her troubles in Ireland ;" 
a national benefit wiiich he partly accomplished in her 
reign, and effectually in that of her successor. Descended 
from an ancient race, and allied to three families of peers, 
Lord Mountjoy had been distinguished from his earliest in- 
troduction by the peculiar favor of the queen. At first his 
youthfiil and handsome appearance engaged the attention 
of Elizabeth, who said, " she knew there was some noble 
blood in him." The bashfulness with which he, a youth 
of twenty, sustained the unfeminine rudeness with which 
she fixed her dauntless gaze upon him, was found to con- 
ceal the attributes both of wit and courage, and the acqui- 
sition of scholastic learning.* Hence he had been employ- 
ed in most of the military enterprises of his time, varying 
_ occasionally the distinctions of warlike prowess with those 
accorded in the academic retirements of Oxford, being 
created a master of arts in that university almost whilst 
actively engaged in pursuit of the Armada.f Thus en- 
dowed, and possessed of the entire confidence of the queen, 
the expectations of the political part of the nation were 
in favor of Mountjoy's nomination to the government of 
Ireland. Unhappily for Essex, his own presumption, and 
the intrigues of his enemies, who desired his absence 
from the court, intimidated Mountjoy from advancing those 
pretensions to the appointment which would have been 
seconded by the imiversal suffrage of public opinion. 

Reckless of his own inability to conduct the aflairs of the 
sister kingdom, the infatuated Essex interposed his plea to 
the charge, which he grounded upon the inexperience of 
Blount in warlike affairs, and the smallness of his estate; 
alleging that he was strengthened with few followers, and 
too much drowned in the study of learning. ^ Although 
pretending, after the fashion of the day, to disqualify him- 
self, as it was called, for the office, unfortunately for him- 
self the Earl gained the object of his wishes, and Icfl Eng- 
land, confident of victory over the rebels. " I have beaten 
Ralegh and KnoUys in the council," such was his boast, 
" and I will beat Tir Owen in the field ; for nothing worthy 
her majesty's honor has yet been achieved."|; The result 
of these sanguine expectations, and of the operations of 

* Nnunton, xii. p. 73. f Biog. { Niigie Aiitiqiw, vol. i. p. 246. 



92 LIFE OF SIR WALTER liM.KGU. 

the largest army that Ireland had ever seen ; tlie neglect 
of instructions which he had received ; and the ill-advised 
return of Essex, miglit have effected his ruin, independent 
of the evil offices of his enemies. Ireland was justly said 
to have been " the sepulchre of his father, and tlie grave 
of his own fortunes."* Yet Essex with common prudence 
might have retrieved his condition, [assessing as he did an 
interest in the affections of the queen, from which even all 
his ingratitude and his follies could not wean her. 

Nevertheless, even before his return to England, his 
friends dreaded, and he meditated, the prosecution of some 
audacious scheme which might involve the succession to 
the crown in difficulty, and the Queen herself in danger. f 
Such were tlie rumors of his rash designs, that the last 
maritime military service in which Ralegli was employed 
by Elizabeth was thought to refer to an apprehension of 
his treasonable attempt. In the month of August there 
were great and general fears of an invasion from some 
quarter ; troops to the number of six thousand were mus- 
tered to guard Jbhe city and attend the Queen's person ; 
chains were drawn across the streets ; additional watches 
were provided, and liglits hung out from every laouse for 
a fortniglitj Sixteen or eighteen vessels were hastily fit- 
ted out. Lord Thomas Howard, and Ralegh as vice-admiral, 
being appointed to command them. On the fiflh day of 
the month Ralegh took leave of the ladies of the court and 
of his friends, and joined the fleet. § After bemg a montli 
at sea, he was permitted, with the rest of the armament, 
to return home. Tlie popular surmise whicli attributed 
this preparation to a dread of Essex was, however, in all 
possibility, deceived. It was the Queen's policy, admira- 
ble.in times of so much danger, to accustom her people to 
prompt and sudden motions of defence ; to alarm her ene- 
mjes as much by her readiness to repel as by'her deeds in 
actual warfare; fulfilling thus the duties of a legislator, 
whose truest interest it is to prevent bloodshed and promote 
in her subjects the happy feeling of security. 

Upon the unexpected return of Essex in September, ca- 
bals ran higli, and the anxiety and perturbation experienced 

* rarallel in Reliquitc Wottonia;. f Camden, anno 1599. 

} OldyB, 133. from Stowe's Annals. § Sydney Tapers, p. 117. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTKR RALEGH. 93 

by those persons who were most interested could only be 
exceeded by the chagrin and irresolution of the Queen. 

Wlien Essex was consigned to custody, popular clamors 
were more virulent than court factions, and even the pulpit 
lent its aid to fan the flames of dissension. Extravagant 
praises of the eaH were uttered by the preachers, and 
libels were propagated throughout the country, reflecting 
on the privy-council and on the Queen for detaining in 
durance him whom they considered to be innocent.* Of 
these domestic broils, a narrative, perhaps the most minute 
that ever was penned, is preserved in the letters of Rowland 
White to Ris patron Sir Robert Sydney, recently promoted 
to the honor of chamberlaiir.f In the details given by this 
industrious observer of men and manners, the alternations 
of hope and fear, both in the friends and enemies of Essex; 
the irresolution of the Queen's mind ; the strengtli of her 
affection, counteracted by her jealous concern for the safety 
of her crown and sceptre ; all are portrayed so as to pre- 
sent these vicissitudes of passion before us in lively colors. 
In respect to the libels, this writer asserts Sir Walter Ra- 
legh to have been regarded as the author. After observing, 
"fliat between Lord Cobham and Sir Walter Rauley is 
growen a deepe unkindness, but that he cannot yet learne 
the cause," he adds, " Sir Walter Rauley has an ague : all 
the world suspects him about the libels."]: The design of 
these publications must, therefore, have been to inflame 
the mind of tlie Qufeen against Essex, since the mutual 
aversion of the Earl and Ralegh was well known to all 
parties at this time. " Some shynyngc of p^ce and pitye 
appears in her majesty towards Essex, for besides her yes- 
terday's favor she is pleased he shall have the liberty of 
the garden ; but Sir Walter RauleyJ is fallen sicke upon- it, 
and her majesty very graciously sent to see him."l| The 
libels were inveighed against by Lord Treasurer Buck- 
hurst in the council, and the wisdom of the Queen's mea- 
sures defended by her ministers severally. This was fol- 
lowed by an harangue on the part of the lord keeper in the 

* (/'amden, p. 571. 

t Published by Arthur CollinB, Esq., in the Sydney Papers. 

t Sydney Papers, p. 141. 

§ His name is written in ciphers, 24 being the number assigned to him 
in these documents. 
I Sydney Papers, p. 139. 



94 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

star chamber, exposing the errors of tlie Earl of Essex, and 
magnifying tlie endeavors of the Queen to secure the peace 
of Ireland.* Wliilst Essex remained in custody in tlie 
Jiouse of tlie lord keeper, devoting, as he wrote to his 
iriends, his " meditations to God,t" Ralegh was sent into 
■ Flanders with Lord Cobham, with a commission to treat 
with the United States concerning the peace now in agita- 
tion between England and the Continental po\vers.|; Their 
embassy was conducted with the greatest secrecy ; yet it 
excited suspicions in tlie mind of the Archduke Albert, 
Governor of tlie Netherlands in right of his wife, to whom 
that portion of his dominions liad been ceded by her fatlier, 
Pliilip the Second of Syxiin. Queen Elizabeth having been 
charged by Albert with supplying the Hollanders with 
anmiunition and victuals, it was tliouglit necessary to em- 
power tlie commissioners for peace at Boulogne to refute 
tJiis notion, and accordingly an ingenious and subtle excuse 
for the embassy was supplied by the able pen of the secre- 
tary Cecil, in case tliafc the journey of Lord Cobham and 
Ralegh should be mentioned as a source of umbrage. 
Prince Maurice was at this time engaged in tlie siege of 
Isabella, a fort near Ostend, and the pretext of seeing 
his camp, aijd the arrangement of liis army, was tlie plea 
upon wliich tlie journey of the two Englisli courtiers was 
laid : " of whom, if tliey speak (but not otherwise)," says 
tlie cautious Cecil, " you may use this argument : ' that 
they have no cliarge, nor carried eitlier horse or man but 
some lialf a dozen of tlieir owne ; but finding the Queen is 
60 resolved to have peace (if good conditions could be had), 
they obtained leave witli iniportunitie to see tliis one action 
before they should become desperate of seeing any more 
of tliat kynde in her majesty's time,' which God long con- 
tinue."§ The postscript of tliis letter, which is dated July 
14th, 1600, mentions the return of Cobham and Ralegh, 
adding tliese words, " so as that matter will be quickly an- 
swered." Their mission nevertlieless appears to have 
excited some surmise and alarm among the commissioners 
at Boulogne,l| and it was afterwards found to be not "alto- 
getlier idle, nor ujjon curiosity only ; but tJiat lliey carried 
some message which did no harm."ir 

♦ Camden, p. 571. j Ibid. p. 571. I Oldj s, p. 134. 

§ Letter of Cecil to the Commissioners for the Treaty of Bulloigoe. 
1 Ibid. p. 130. V Ibid. p. 131. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 95 

On Iho return of Ralegh to the English court, he -if^nn 
found liis credit good with the Queen, and soon re- 
ceived a substantial proof of her favor.* One great object 
of his de^rcs was the situation of Governor of Jersey, a 
post which had recently become vacant by the death of Sir 
Anthony Paulet.f In his solicitations for this office, Ra- 
legh was opposed by Sir William Russell, to whom ho 
oftered to give up the wardenship of the stannaries and 
lieutenancy of Cornwall, to induce him to relinciuish his 
suit. Ralegh gained the appointment, however, with a 
g'rant of the manor or lordship of St. Germain in Jersey, 
without these sacrifices; but 300/. a year was deducted 
from the usual revenues, Lord Henry Seymour claiming' 
that sum as a regular grant from the Queen during the 
life of the former governor. A commission was sent to 
survey the island, and to estimate the expense of building 
a new fort,t which it was thought Sir Walter would con- 
sent to erect at his own charge. This appointment was one 
of considerable trust and importance. Ralegh, as it appears 
from his trial, did not subsequently escape suspicion from 
the nature of a situation in which intrigues might easily be 
carried on with foreign courts^ ; but the strict confidence 
placed in him by the discerning Elizabeth may be implied 
from this appointment. Vigilance, next to fidelity, was the 
quality which the Queen most highly prized in Ralegh, 
and with which she seldom or never dispensed. To him 
she could not in justice apply her fiivorite saying, that 
" state officers were like garments, which at the first putting 
on were strait, but by and by did wear loose enough || ;" 
since whatever may have been his faults, his alacrity, zeal, 
and disinterestedness in the conduct of his public employ- 
ments, was never even by his enemies made the subject of 
doubt or invective. IF 

Whilst Ralegh was thus reaping the reward of long and 
laborious exertions, we find him able to snatch a few inter- 
vals from the perpetual services of a courtier's life to de- 
vote to retirement, or at least to relaxation, in his country- 
seat at Sherborne, in Devonshire. When disappointment 
assailed him in his worldly career, he passed tp this beloved 

♦ Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 212. f Wiuwood's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 215. 
t Sydney Piii)er.s, vol. ii. p. 210—212. § See Trial, in Oldys. 

II Bacon's Apnphthepms, p. 332. ir Oldys, p. 14. 



96 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH 

retreat, whither he had secluded himself early in the year, 
when the Queen, either influenced by others, or witli 
feminine inconsistency, had refused to<he man whom she 
placed as grovernor over an important island, thei office of 
commissioner for the treaty of peace at Boulogne. De- 
jected, and probably disgusted, Ralegh toolc refuge from 
the harassing cares of ambition in the bosom of his family ; 
a retreat which no man of virtue and intelligence will ever 
repent of adopting as a resource, if he have modelled that 
family with good sense, elevated by principles of religion. 
In liis first journey to his native country during this year, 
Ralegh carried down witli hun tlie son of secretary Ce- 
cil, a yo\ith of great promise, to reside as an inmate*; 
probably for the purpose of receiving a similar course of 
instructi9n with tlie young Walter iSilegh. On their road 
they rested and dmed at Sion House, the seat of the Earl 
of Northumberland ; and in Devonshire Sir Walter on this 
occasion remained more than five montlis. In September, 
he received as a guest the secretary Cecil, who, to use ex- 
pressions wliich well denote tlie cares of a statesman's life, 
" had picked out this time to be away, and to take some 
time to be abroad from the infinite time and pains he takes 
in tiie dispatch of her majesty's service when he is in 
court. t" Cobham, whose selfish, base, and weak character 
was eitlier not at this time unfolded to Ralegh, or was over- 
looked by him from motives of interest, was also among tlie 
visitants at Siierborne, and, as is shown by one of Ralegh's 
familiar letters to him, upon the most intimate terms.| The 
repose whicli Ralegh may be presumed to have enjoyed in 
domestic society was not of long continuance, circum- 
stances unliappily arising which not only for a time de- 
stroyed his tranquillity, but which have left, with no fault 
traces, in the opinion of many authors, stains of an indelible 
character upon liis memory. 

The Earl of Esse.\ had been imprisoned during six 
montlis, a period in which the agitations of the Queen's 
mind were unparalleled by any previous excess of passion, 
however momentous the circumstances of her life on sun- 
dry occasions had proved. The tragical close of tlie Earl's 
career, afterwards cut short by ner sovereign power, 



* Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 159. f Ibid. p. 210—212. 

} See Appendix. 



i.iKi: oi' tiUi uAi.ruit n,vi.K<;u 97 

nujrlit oven justify tlie syuipatli}' ol" ono, wli«» had loved 
him less fondly and less foolishly than his royal mistress. 
Already had she spared him the ignominy of a star-cham- 
ber trial for treason, suffering him to be summoned before 
a private tribunal in the house of the lord keeper; a grace 
for which Essex, on his trial, tlianked God Almighty, ap- 
)*lying^to his " most gracious princess" the warmest epi- 
thets of mercy, " tliat she had suffered this cup to pass."* 
.Such was the language of the day, and such the adula- 
tions of the times, that the relentings of earthly resent- 
ments were, with a grossness of feeling little short of pro- 
fanity, confounded with the benignant and long-suffering 
tompaf-.sion of tlie Supreme Being. 

Lord Clarendon, who displays in this observation an in- 
timate knowledge of the female heart, remarks, " that if 
ever tliat uncouth speech fell from Esse.x of the Queen, 
w hjoli is delivered to us by one who is much conversant 
in the afliiirs of the court, that she was as crooked in lier 
di.'-.position as in her carcass, all my wonder at his destruc- 
tion is taken from mc."f It is, indeed, too true, not in re- 
lation to this speech of the Earl's, but with regard to his 
whole conduct, that he was sufficiently his own enemy not 
to render it necessary even to inquire by what instruments 
of malice his ruin was eflected. In one of his acts of im- 
] rudence, he inflicted, however, upon Ralegh, an injury, 
which, if Sir Walter had any considerable share in his 
rondemnation, proved, eventually, the cause of a heavj' 
retribution. After some alternations of repentance and of 
violence, Essex entered mto a correspondence with James 
the Sixth, King of Scotland, and failed not to impress him 
witli formidable notions of Ralegh's power and influence, 
and with most pernicious ones of his designing temper. 
Nothing could be more indiscreet than this act, and 
nothing more certain to irritate the Queen, than to pay 
any deference to James in anticipation of his succession. 
Even to name tlaat event in her presence, was, as she was 
wont to say, " to pin up her winding-sheet before her 
face.!" It was, however, a measure both rash in Essex, 
r.nd fatal to any chance of estimation towards Ralegh, in 
tlie favor of James I. 

* rainden, p. 530. f Parallel in Reliquise Wottoniee. 

J \iigiE Antiqiite, vol. ii. p. 257. 

I 



98 LIFE OF SIR WALTEH RALEGH 

Well might Elizabeth declare "that her lather would 
not have endured sucli perverseness" as that which Essex, 
the honored object of her affections, displayed.* But not^ 
withstanding her devotion to him, prudence, and perhapa 
avarice, induced her to refuse the renewal of liis farm of 
sweet wines (a term applied to all but French and Rhenish 
wines), the lease of which was nearly expired. Upon this 
denial, Essex, whose debts had been, at an early period i of 
his life, considerable, rushed into the vortex prepared for 
him by false advisers, and rendered fatal by the violence 
of his own passions. The result was long remembered 
with pain, by those who admired his virtues and compas- 
sionated his errors ; it was viewed with indignation by all 
who were justly scandalized at the ingratitude and perfidy 
of Essex to his sovereign, now in the decline of life, and 
erring only towards him hitherto in a blind partiality. On 
the evening of the 7th of February 1601, messengers were 
dispatched from Essex House about the town, to raise re- 
ports tliat Cobham and Ralegh lay in wait for the Earl's 
life. Meanwhile Essex had formed a plot to enter the 
city on the following morning, which was Sunday, and to 
present himself to the aldermen and the people, craving 
their aid against his enemies, and their present help in as- 
sisting him to make his way to tlie Queen's presence.! 
On tliat very morning. Sir Ferdinand Gorges, one of the 
Earl's adlierents, received a message from Ralegh, urging 
him to come with all possible speed to Durham House, and 
by water, as being the most private way. This intimation 
was mentioned by Gorges to Essex, who consented to his 
hastening to the interview, but directed him to meet Ra- 
legh on the water, on no account to land at Durham 
House, and to take a guard witli him in order to secure his 
return. J The object of tliis conference was a kind en- 
deavor to save from inevitable destruction an old compan- 
ion in battle. Sir Ferdinand having been with him at the 
siege of Cadiz, of which he wrote a relation highly credita- 
ble to Ralegh. According to the testimony of Gorges, Ra- 
legh came to tlie interview alone, whilst Gorges was attend- 
ed by two gentlemen. On their meeting, Ralegh told Gor- 
ges that he had sent for him to admonish him to make all 

* Camden, p. 533. t Ibid, p. 538. J Oldys, p. 136, 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 99 

haste out of town down to his charge,* tlierc being a warrant 
out for sending hun to the Fleet. For this kind ad\ertise- 
ment, Gorges gave hiui tlianks, but told him tliat the pres- 
ent occasion would soon discover itself; that it came too 
late, fdr that he had engaged himself in another matter. 
Ralegh further inquiring of him what it was. Gorges told 
him that " there were two thousand gentlemen who had 
resolved that day to die, or live free men." Ralegh pro- 
tested tliat he had never heard of the plot until that morn- 
ing, observing, that he did not know what they wer^to do 
against the Queen's authority ; to which Gorges rejTlied, 
" that it was by the abuse of him and others which made 
so many honest men resolve to seek a reformation." The 
natural and temperate answer wh'ich Ralegh made to this 
avowal, was, tiiat " no man is without a color to his in- 
tent :" upon which, after some protestations of loyalty on 
the part of Gorges, they separated, Ralegh returning home, 
and Gorges to Essex Plouse.f 

Meanwhile the Earls of Rutland and Southampton, the 
Lord Sands, Lord Parker, Lord Monteagle, and about three 
hundred disaffected gentlemen had assembled around the 
Earl of Essex, whose house was sedulously guarded by his 
own orders from intruders. To some of his infatuated 
party, Essex, who, perhaps, scarcely knew his own inten- 
tions, declared his resolution to go to the Queen, and in- 
form her of the snares laid for his life : and to others, he 
protested, that, with the help of the city of London, he 
would revenge the injuries done by his adversaries. Eliza- 
beth, apprized of these rash proceedings, had lost no time 
in enjoining the mayor and citizens to be upon their guard, 
and to do tlieir duty. To Essex she sent a deputation of 
four privy-councillors, headed by the lord keeper and the 
lord chief justice, to inquire the cause of these disturbances. 
These persons were with difficulty allowed entrance, and 
all their servants were excluded. They found the Earl in 
the court-yard, in the midst of a confused nmltitude ; but 
tiieir presence on this occasion appeared only to irritate 
his passions and to incense the misguided persons around 
hun.J: Stimulated by their outcries, Essex consented that 
the deputation should be taken into custody, and m this 



* The Government of Plymouth f Olilys, p. IHO. 

} Camden, p 58'.*. 



100 LIFE OF SIR VVAl/rER RALEGH. 

perilous situation he left them, consigning the defence of 
his house to Sir Gilly Merriclc, and issuing from it, to pur- 
sue his first project of raising the city. Few instances 
ai'c to be found in history, of a life more needlessly cast 
away by folly and insane violence than that of Essex. 
When, on sallying into the streets, he perceived the citi- 
zens uniformly tranquil, and refusing, with one accord, to 
talie up lums, to which, at that period, all classes of men 
were regularly trained, he yet pursued his course to the 
shesiff's house, although much agitated by perplexity, and 
overcome with fatigue. 

It was now that Thomas Lord Burleigh, the brother of 
Cecil, and tlie Garter JCing at Arms, entering the city. 
proclaimed Essex a traitor. It was at the same time an 
nounced, tliat the Lord Admiral was approaching with a 
vast body of men. Upon this intelligence, tlie hopes of 
the unfortunate Essex expired withui him. He prepared, 
therefore, to return to his house ; he revolved in his mind 
the expediency of conciliating the Queen by the release of 
her counsellors ; and Gorges, who had been stopped by tlie 
Queen's troops at Ludgate, was fortunate enough to per- 
form tliat prudent, but tardy act. 

Essex now resolved to hasten home, a determination in 
which he was checked near the west gate of St. Paul's 
church, by a chain, defended with pikes and sliot. Tliis 
precaution had been devised by the Bishop of London, and 
Sir John Levison. And now Essex first drew his sword, 
and after seeing a young and beloved friend killed by his 
side, and having his own hat shot tlirough, he was com- 
pelled to turn aside to Queen Hythe, witli a few devoted 
followers. Hence they took boats, and arrived at Essex 
House.* 

Of this eventful day, Ralegh was, doubtless, a busy wit- 
ness ; his post, as captain of the Queen's guard, requiring 
his personal attendance in scenes of such immediate dan- 
ger. He was not, however, brought into contact with the 
Earl, nor with any of his accomplices; nor was it until 
Essex was obliged to take refuge in his own house, that 
Ralegh's services were required near that erring, and ill- 
fated nobleman. The last act of madness committed by 
the Earl ontliis memorable day, was the fortifying of his 

* Canulen, )'. ■l.'il. 



LIFK OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 101 

liduse. He first cast papers into the fire, lest, as he said, 
"they should tell tales." lie was buoyed up with expect- 
ations of relief from the citizens, until the Lord Admiral, 
his former associate at Cadiz, besieged his house : among 
tJic officers who were employed in this melancholy and 
unpopular service was Ralegh.* The building was care- 
fully barricadoed on all sides ; and the Lord Admiral, with 
his son. Lord Effingham, with Lord Cobham, Sir John 
Stanhope, Sir Robert Sidney, and Sir Fulk Grevil, planted 
themselves on the Thames side, in the garden ; whilst an 
adccjuatc force, headed by several noblemen, guarded the 
liouse, near the town. The particular post assigned to 
Ralegh has not been specified. 

It was ten o'clock before Essex was prevailed on to sur- 
render ; and in a gloomy night he was conveyed to Lam- 
beth Palace, London Bridge being impassable by water ; 
but, on the following day, the Earl and Jiis associates were 
carried in boats to the Tower ; an abode from which few, 
in the reign of the Tudors, were emancipated, except to 
meet with that final doom which gives liberty and repose 
to the innocent. 

And now the trial of Ralegh's forbearance, and the test 
of his generosity and elevation of mind, began. It was un- 
derstood," even by the adherents of Essex, that " Sir Walter 
Ralegh might get himself eternal honor and love, more 
than ever he could otherwise, if he would procure her 
Majesty's warrant to free the lords, which he might com- 
pass, by undertaking it in person.f" Yet we hear of no at- 
tempt of this charitable nature, on the part of Ralegh, who 
would surely have avowed it at his own death, when he 
touched, in self-justification, upon the popular charges made 
against him of malignity towards Essex. For omissions of 
a virtuous act no public man, in those days of peril, could, 
however, with propriety, be censured. Every favored cour- 
tier had his foes, who might give an invidious coloring to any 
behest, however innocent. Elizabeth was arbitrary, almost 
despotic ; and, in her seasons of irritation, neutrality was 
the only safe course. " Blessed are they," said an eye-wit- 
ness of her court, " that can be away, and live contented."^ 
Such, probably, was the pervading sentiment of all who 

♦ Oldys, p. 136. t Ibid. p. 137. 

J Letter of Rowland White in Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 120. 
12 



102. LIFE OF Bin WALTEH RALEGir. 

viewed closely the cares and lienrt-rending vicissitudes of 
that chequered scene. 

If, however, Rftleg'h had the moderation to preserve, in 
his conduct towards Essex, an honorable neutrality, it was 
more thivn tlie world believed. The spirit of the age per- 
mitted, on all public occasions where i)arty feelinjif was en- 
{jaged on the side of power, a vehemence of invective 
against u delinqtient, and a violence of proceeding, which 
would now be regarded with disgust, and repaid with 
shiune. The truth of this observation was fully experi- 
enced by Ralegh, at a sub«e(iuent perio<l of liis life ; and 
if he, by any secret machinations, aggravated the misfor- 
tunes of Essex, ho was severely but justly punished in the 
events of his own ruin. 

On tiie nineteenth day of the month, Essex and South- 
aiivpton were arraigned in Westminster Hall, the lord trea- 
surer Buckhnrst acting as lord steward on the occasion. 
The Queen's sergeant-at-law, Yelverton, in an opening 
8i)eech, comjMired iCsscx to Catiline, and made a similitude 
between the lOarl's ajnbition and tlie growth of the croco- 
dile, which ccniseth not " as long as he livetli."* Coke, the 
Qu(^en's attorn(*y, followed on the same side, too well 
adapted for the oiKce of adding abuse to proof, by a nature 
as inflexible and unrelenting to the inifortunate, as it was 
Hubservicnt and cringing to the powerful and prosperous, 
lie concluded an eimmenitioti of the Queen's benelits to 
Ess(>x, by wisiiing that '' Otis Uobert might be the last of 
this iiaine Earl ot'Esstw, who affected to be Robert first of 
tJuit name, King of England." 

To these harangues, Essex, witli a cheerful voice, and 
composed majnier, replied, by asserting his innocence of 
any other intention than that of prostrating himself at the 
feet of the (ine(>n, and dcndaring to her the dangers which 
threatened his coimtry. lie protested that his fidelity to his 
sovereign and to his coimtry was untainted. f 

Ralegh, with forty of the (Queen's giiard, was present 
during the trial, and in the course of its |)rogress was called 
ii|wn to give his tnidence nMative to the conference held 
with (iorges. He d(>pose<l. that (lorges told him on the 
water, that Essex had put himself into a strong guard at 
hia house, and this would be the bloodiest day's work that 

♦ (^iiiuilcn. !> .'in t ''iiMiiIi'ii, |i, ."iU 



LIFE oi' Sill vvai,ti;k kai.wjii. 103 

ever was; vvishiiiflf lie would ypecd to court for the preven- 
tion of it ; tlmt for his t)wu share in the transaction, he al- 
leged lie " wished Gorges to refuse tlieir conipiiny, or else 
lie would be undone.*" This testimony was confirmed by 
Crorges, tlien in court ; and was answered by lOssex only 
witli tliis observation, that it was totally diflerent to what 
Gorges had mentioned to hun, on returning to Essex House. 
Tiiese particulars constituted the sole evidence which Ra- 
legh was required to give ; and it may be hence naturally 
asked, why his name was so mixed up with this allair by 
the partisans of Essex ! It appears, however, from a tract 
not usually referred to by our historituis, that Essex, in his 
examination before the trial, in order to give a color of jus- 
tice to hisproceedmgs, aflirmed that he pursued the violent 
measures to which lie had recourse chiefly to defeat the 
machinations of Rnlegh, and of his partisan liord Cobham, 
against his own honor and safety. He asserted, that wlien 
he was desired, on the seventh of February, to attend the 
council, he had declined because he was apprized tliat Ra- 
legh and Cobham hod ])repared au ambuscade of mus- 
keteers upon the water, to murder him as he passed.f This 
pretext, supported only by the assertions of a man infuriated 
to desperation, is deprived of every shade of justice by the 
fact that Essex practised against the life of Ralegh, by 
means of liis ogeiits, a circumstance which was admitted 
by Sir Christoither ]?lount, one of the Earl's adherents, 
when put ujKin his trial ; and from this confession, backed by 
the testimony of Sir Eerdiiiand (Joiges, whom Blount sought 
to persuade into the bUxKly deed, no (h)ubt remained but that 
Ulount had aimed at the person of Ralegh, from a boat 
tour deadly shots.]; On the other hand, it was generally 
su|)posed Ralegh was the individual who first ai)pri/.ed the 
government of the conspiracy, the particulars of which had 
been imparted to him from Gorges, who, doubtless, proved 
treacherous to his own i)arty, and deceived them as to what 
had passed between him and Ralegh in the conference ; and 
who, tor that reason, combined with suspicions of further 
machinations against Essex, was never forgiven by tlie 

♦ Oldys, p. 139. 

t OUlys, p. 137. Hiograpliia, fnun J,or<l llacon's Duclurationii of E«- 
Ri'x's Trcasonti. 

t Oldys, p. 138. also Birrli, vol i. p 1.5. 



104 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

populace. The unfortunate Earl endeavored, on his trial, 
to turn even the admonitions of Ralegh to Gorges into 
proofs of a conspiracy against his life ; which wus evidently 
implied, he alleged, in the advice of Ralegh to Gorges, to 
withdraw from the company of Essex, as " from a ship in 
danger to be wrecked."* Grorges was then produced, and 
gave an evidence confirming the guilt of Essex. Perhaps 
there were few present who were not concerned to see this 
treacherous friend, one, too, who had been distinguished in 
the service of his country, disgrace his name by a base dis- 
closure of the guilt in which he had participated. It was 
obvious, that through some secret source, the enemies of 
Essex had gained accurate information of all his designs 
and proceedings. This source, in all human probability, 
was the perfidious Gorges ; and the intercourse which Ra- 
legh had with him, and the seeming fair terms on which 
they continued even till the fatal day of the insurrection, 
had, possibly, a far deeper source than common good-will. 
After the conference at Drury House had been mentioned, 
and it was proved that the heads of the consultation had 
been written with his own hand, the Earl burst forth into 
passionate exclamations : — " The hope," he said, " of life 
and impunity had drawn these things out of some ; and let 
them freely enjoy their life : for my part, death is more 
welcome to me than life : Cobham, Cecil, Ralegh's violence, 
hath driven me to the necessary defence of my life." 

Thus did he seek to justify his own defection from loy- 
alty. To this charge, Cecil and Cobham replied ; but Ra- 
legh appears to have intrusted the defence of his own con- 
duct to Francis Lord Bacon, who, in a polished and elegant 
speech, affirmed that " Cobham, Cecil, and Ralegh were 
such sincere honest men, and had such rich estates, that 
they would never hazard their hopes and properties, by 
entering into so foul a conspiracy."! He commented also 
upon the inconsistencies of the Earl's allegations, in which 
he affirmed, sometimes, that he was to be stabbed in his 
bed, then slain in a boat, then killed by the Jesuits ; and 
compared him to Pisistratus, who wounded his own body, 
and showed it to the people as if done by his adversaries ; 
and having by that means obtained a guard of soldiers, op- 
pressed the commonwealth. 

* Camden, p. 545. t Ibid. p. 546. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 105 

In the course of this speech, Essex interrupted him by 
observing, that Lord Bacon had written, not long since, an 
elaborate letter in his name, to the Queen, against the very 
men whom he now defended. This was a just accusation ; 
and afforded one among the various instances of tergiver- 
sation and insincerity which occurred in the life of the 
illustrious, but not faultless, Bacon. 

After a warm contest between Cecil and Ralegh, which 
originated in a dispute concerning Dollman's work upon 
the succession to the crown, the prisoners were pronounced 
guilty, by an unanimous sentence of the peers. Greatly 
as the popular indignation was, at tliis time, incensed 
against Essex, few persons could hear his appeal to the 
mercy of the Queen, and to the mediation of the judges, 
without pity ; and some, perhaps, not without remorse. On 
the edge of the ax being, after his sentence, turned to- 
wards hirn, he said, " This body might have done the Queen 
better service, if it had so pleased her : I shall be glad if it 
may be useful to her any way." 

His execution succeeded his trial in seven days ; and his 
repentance, in that short space of time, appeared to be 
genuine, whilst his confessions were copious. Ralegh was 
present at his death ; a circumstance which was variously 
interpreted : by some he was charged with the baseness of 
pursuing his fallen rival even to the scaffold, that lie might 
glory in the sight of those last sufferings, over which even 
the bitterness of party rancor would willingly cast a veil ; 
by others more charitable, it was thought that he placed 
himself near the Earl, in order to answer any allegations 
which the dying man might make against him. He was, 
however, advised to withdraw ; and with this counsel he 
found it expedient to comply. 

In reply to the spirit in which these acknowledged facts 
have been frequently detailed by historians on this subject, 
it may be urged that in disclosing the dangerous schemes 
of Essex, even if the fact that he did so were proved, Ra- 
legh performed his duty as a subject, and as a well-wisher 
to the tranquillity of his country. J^or can it be denied 
that he was justified in maintaining any intercourse with 
Gorges, which might afford an insight into the Earl's con- 
spiracy. Witli regard to his assistance in the apprehension 
of Essex, it is obvious that he acted in his capacity of cap- 
tain of the guard, an office which obliged him to attend on 



106 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

public occasions, and especially at those times when the 
public safety was endangered ; and it would be unjust to 
reproach him with a service in which some of tlic most 
valiant and honorable persons were employed. The impu- 
tation of a conspiracy between him and Cobham to murder 
the Earl was unsupported by proof, and devoid of proba- 
bility ; and the cliarge of attending the execution of Essex, 
which appeared from motives of malignant triumph to con- 
tain much more likely grounds of accusation, is in a great 
measure refuted by his own simple statement, after he liad 
himself appeared before the tribunal of justice. On that 
solemn occasion he thus expressed himself: — " There was 
a report spread, that I should rejoice at the death of ijiy 
Lord Essex, and that I should take tobacco in his presence ; 
when, as I protest, I shed tears at his death, though I was 
one of the contrary faction, and at the time of his death I 
was all the while in the armory at the further end, where 
I could but see him ; I was sorry that I was not with liim, 
for I heard he had a desire to see me, and be reconciled to 
me ; so that I protest I lamented his death, and good cause 
had I, for it was the worse for me as it proved, for after he 
was gone I was little beloved."* Such, indeed, was the 
frame of mind in which Ralegh viewed the last moments 
of Essex, that, as he returned in a boat from the Tower, a 
sad presaging anticipation of his own fate pressed lieavily 
upon his spirits, and excited the observation of his compan- 
ions.! These gloomy forebodings may have been tlie effect 
of strong compassion, or of sensations of awe upon behold- 
ing an individual, so lately, and so peculiarly, the favorite 
of fortune, conducted to tlie scatfold ; or they may have 
been produced by the display of popular indignation which 
liad obliged Ralegh to retreat from his station near to the 
scene of action into the armory. At any rate, they evince 
any thing rather than an insolent triumph, or a brutal sat- 
isfaction at the destruction of one so envied, and, as it 
proved, so lamented as the unfortunate Essex. 

It was, indeed, afterwards asserted, that Ralegh, in his 
letters, had said tliat ho doubted the Earl's saintship, and 
that the "great boy had died like a calf and like a craven." 
It was likewise affirmed, tliat soon after tlie execution, a 

• Seb Life of Ralegh, prefixed to History of the World, p. 39. 8vo. 1673 
t Osborne's Essays, p. 615. 



LIFH OF SIR VVALTKU RAI.Er.H. 107 

j[jentleman retumino^ from Spain, rrstcd at Slierborne, 
where Ralegli then abode. On being- asked what they 
said of tlic death of Essex in Spain, this person is stated to 
have replied, tliat they had not heard of it ; but that he 
was sorry to hear tliat in the island voyage the Earl had 
brougiit Sir Walter Ralegh to his mercy. To this observa- 
tion Ralegh is said to have answered, " But I trust I am 
now quit with him." The author of this tale also declares, 
that Ralegh gave instructions to the lieutenant of the 
Tower for the execution of the warrant.* Upon this in- 
formation it has been well observed, that it was given by 
the person who afterwards ensnared him, to those who 
eventually condemned Sir Walter Ralegh to the scaftbld. 
Common sense also suggests that Ralegh, conscious as he 
was of some imputations of this nature, would not tlius 
wantonly lay himself open to fresh constructions of a simi- 
lar kind. 

So great was the esteem in wliich Essex was held, that 
Ralegh was never again well received in public ; and even 
Elizabeth, in addition to the griefs of a breaking heart, ex- 
perienced the chagrin of seeing that her popularity was 
diiTHnished, that the streets were less crowded, and the 
acclamations, as she passed, less cordial than before.f The 
popular feeling' was right: Essex, although a dangerous, 
was not an irreclaimable subject; and Elizabeth evinced 
as much harshness in thus punishing his offences, as a pa- 
rent who visits with severe chastisement a child whom his 
folly has spoiled. Neither can Ralegh, even with the ben- 
efit of every excuse, rise untainted above the susj)icion 
which attached to him in this affair. lie must, in justice, 
be indeed absolved from the heinous and almost diabolical 
designs laid to his charge ; but great minds should be 
judged by a high standard of honor, and of moral feeling. 
That which might not appear extraordinary in Cobham, or 
even in Cecil, became reprehensible in Bacon and in Ra- 
legh. In consonance with the high spirit of patriotism 
which he professed, with the demeanor of a gentleman, 
with the sentiments of a Christian, Ralegh should have 
discarded from his inmost thoughts every wish but that for 
mercy, every intention but that of promoting public tran- 
quillity, every recollection of past injury from Essex, every 

♦ Oliiys, p. 133. t Osbnins's Trail. IMiMiiniis of Q. E. 



108 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RAI.EUH. 

idea of possible rivalry for the future. That such was not 
the iufcrence to be drawn from his conduct, is, unhappily, 
too true : in what degree he was reprehensible, it is ex- 
tremely dilRoult to determine ; but although the popular 
feelings are often exaggerated, they arc seldom w-Jiolly 
unfounded. His mediation with regard to some of tiie 
other delinquents was etlectual ; and it is not extravagant 
to suppose, that in the wavering state of the Queen's mind, 
it mij^lit not have proved unavailable witli respect to Essex.* 
Sir l^dnmnd Baynham, and John Lyttleton, two of tlie 
consi)irators, were pardoned, ujwn the payment each of a 
considerable sum to Ralegh, who interccdetl in their behalf 
with the Ciueen. The bribe held out in this instance by 
Lyttleton is said to have amounted to ton thousand pounds. 
Such was tlie motle in w hich mercy was purchased, even 
in tlie eulogized reign of Elizabeth ; and such tlie base and 
mercenary spirit in this instance displayed even by tlie 
liberal and pati'iotic Ralegh. 

It was long before Essex was forgotten, or his enemies 
forgiven, by the people. lie died in the thirty-tburtli year 
of his age, a jjcricnl at which his father was said to have 
warned liim uixin his death-bed.t The lower classes re- 
gardcnl his execution as a murder, and were tlie more 
angry that intercession had been made by the opposite 
party tor Southampton, but none for Essex. J They forgot, in 
their violent condemnation of the government which had 
lirst iuij)risoned, then sentenced him to death, the obligations 
which Essex had received from his country ; for, in his public 
employments, he had reaped at least tliree hundred thousand 
poundsj : they forgot his influence with the military, and 
his asserted pretensions to the crown; and they sow not, 
witli the exception of those immediately about tJie court, 
(he agonized reluctance witli which ElizabetJi signed the 
wtirrant, nor the griefs which even her strong mind could 
not iifiiT his execution, control. It is probable that the senti- 
ments of Ralegh ujwn this mournful occasion were equally 
concealed, or niisunderstoixl. The history of human mo- 
tives has, perhaps, in few instances, been faitlifully dis- 
closed to tlie world. 

^ » Camden, p. 549. t Camdaii.p. S53. 

I Osborno'a Essnys, p. GIO. I.ondon, 1673. 
J Noll- ill Bioffrnphia, art. Devercu\. ** 



LIFE OF SIR VVAI-TEIl HALEOH. 100 

Throufifhout the wholo of this melancholy business, the 
Queen abandoned herself to a dejection so mingled witli 
irritation, that few even of her favorites ventured to ad- 
dress her on matters of business. Yet it seems that her 
resentment was not directed to the enemies of Essex, but 
to tliose who had been his most intimate associates. 

Amon<ifst the courtiers who had offended the Queen, 
during tiie recent deputyship of Essex in Ireland, was Sir 
John Harrington, tlic godson of Elizabeth, and, usually, the 
indulged companion of her lighter hours. Secured, by his 
privileged relation to her majesty, from tlie effects of her 
serious resentment, and permitted in his character of a wit 
to treat as sport those passing events by which the fate of 
less happy courtiers was determined, Harrington had 
lately in some measure incurred the displeasure of Eliza- 
beth during his campaign in Ireland with Essex, not so 
much for his visit to Lord Tyrone, the leader of the rebels 
there, as from his changing tlie title of captain into that of 
knight on being endowed with tliat order ; — a dire offence 
to Elizabeth, Avho, on hearing of twenty-four persons being 
knighted by Essex at the siege of Roan, contemptuously 
remarked, " that my Lord should have made his alms-house 
first"* • ■ 

No troubles or perils could however chill the vivacity 
of Harrington, nor check the exuberance of his wit and 
fancy. Facetiously described by Fuller as a "poet in all 
things except his poverty," Harrington indulged in one of 
the supjwsed privileges of an imaginative turn, by extrava- 
gant habits, and a thouglitless indin'ercnco to the future. 
His intimacy witli Ralegh was considerable ; and it is sat- 
islactory to find, at a later period, wlien Ralegh was under 
the cloud of court displeasure in the reign of James, tliat 
Harrington had the independence to express a firm re- 
liance upon the essential points of his character. It i^ 
even more satisfactory to those, who, admiring the talents 
of Ralegh, are disposed to view his conduct with partiality, 
to perceive that the affair of Essex had not impressed Har- 
rington with any notions prejudicial to Ralegh's honor and 
veracity. It is evident, also, from the following passage, 
that Cecil had not forgiven, in Ralegh, some parts of his 
behavior in that affair, which have not been explained by 



♦ Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p 129 

K 



110 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH, 

any of the contemporary writers, sufficiently, to show how 
far they were calculated to rouse the anger of the secre- 
tary. *' Cecil doth beare no love to Raleighe, as you well 
know, in the matter of Essex. I wiste not that he (Ralegh) 
Jiath evyll desygn, in pointe of faithe or relygion. As he 
hath often discoursede to me moch lernynge, wysdome, 
and freedome, I knowe he dothe somewhat dyffer in opyn- 
yon for some others ; but I thynke alsoe his hearte is well 
fixed in every honeste nature, to serve the state, especial- 
lie as he is versede in foraign matters, his skyll thereyn 
being alwaies estimable and prayseworthie. In relygion, 
he hathe showne (in pryvate talke) great depth and good 
readynge, as I once expcryenccd at hys owne howse, be- 
fore manie lernyde men.*" Happy himself in escaping 
unhurt from the snares of a courtier's life, Harrington ex- 
perienced enough of its vicissitudes to congratulate him- 
self that if he had been driven "amongst state rocks and 
sightless dangers," he " had not ventured so far as to be 
quite sunken lierein.f" For some time after his return 
from Ireland, he was regarded almost on the same footing 
as the delinquent Essex, and was threatened with the 
Fleet ; to whicli he answered, " poetically," " that coming 
so late from the land-service, he h«ped he should not be 
pressed, to serve "In her Majesty's fleet in Fleet-Street." 
At length he gained a full audience of the Queen, where 
she, being herself accuser, judge, and witness, he was 
cleared, and graciously dismissed. He then retired to 
Kelston, near Bath ; a seat which had been settled by 
Henry the Eighth upon one of his natural children, a 
daughter, who was the first wife of Sir John Harrington's 
father.}: Nevertheless, he could not resist the inclination 
which curiosity and habit occasion, sometimes to visit the 
court, notwithstanding Ids resolution to " leave great mat- 
'ters to those who liked them better than himself." He 
found, at every successive interview, the strength, the 
spirits, and the self-command of the Queen fast diminish- 
ing, and neither Ralegh nor Cecil could be ignorant of the 
sorrows which were making rapid inroads into Elizabetli's 
constitution. Her decline, " too fast," as many thought, 
" for the evil they should get by her death," and too slow 
for her own release from misery, was now apparent to all. 

* NugiE Aiitiqua;, vol. i. pp. 342, 343. t Ib'd. t Il>id. " 



LIFE OF SIR WAX/l'ER UALEGH. Ill 

She joined, indeed, in her former amusements, but it was 
with a faltering step, and with faint attempts at forced 
cheerfulness. VVlien, after a short absence, Harrington 
. was summoned to her presence, she inquired if lie had 
seen Tyrone ? On his reply, that he had seen him with the 
lord deputy, she smote her bosom, and said, " Oh now it 
mindetli me that you were one who saw this man else- 
wiiere," — the connexion between Harrington and Essex 
being thus recalled to her. And when Harrington, think- 
ing to revive in her Majesty the old remembrance of his 
pleasantries, which had often amused her, read some verses, 
she told him, in the language of a breaking heart, " that 
she was passed all relish for fooleries." But during the 
short space of time that she survived Essex, the wretched 
Queen, condemned to pay the usual tax of royalty, was 
constrained to sustain the weariness of ceremonial with a 
wounded spirit, and to support the cares of business, when 
all enjoyment of her' sovereignty was at an end. 

In the summer of this year she made her last ,^rv| 
progress, in which Ralegh accompanied her to 
Dover, and probably to Hampshire. Whilst the Queen 
was at Dover, the siege of Ostend, by the Archduke Al- 
bert, alarmed Henry the Fourth for his own frontiers, and 
brought him to Calais to provide for the safety of his do- 
minions. When Elizabeth heard of his arrival there, she 
dispatclied Sir Thomas Edmonds to make her formal con- 
gratulations and inquiries respecting his health. In return 
for this compliment, Henry sent over the celebrated Rosni, 
Due de Sully, one of the most experienced statesmen and 
profound politicians of the day. It was the fortune of Ra- 
legh, with Cobham and Sir Robert Sydney and others, to 
receive this celebrated man on his landing" at Dover ; a cir- 
cumstance which is mentioned by Sully in his Memoirs of 
the Reign of Henry the Fourth.* It is to be regretted 
that no observations on the part of Ralegh, on meeting a 
man so justly renowned, have come to light ; since, per- 
haps, there is no subject of contemplation, in human affairs, 
more interesting than the sentiments with which great 
men regard each other upon tlieir first interview. Whilst 
the Queen pursued her course into Hampshire, the Mar- 
shal Biron was also deputed by Henry the Fourth to make 

* Sully's Memoirs, vol. v. p 60. 



112 LU'E OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

an embassy into England ; and reacliing London on the 5th 
of September, he proceeded with a magnificent retinue of 
three or four liundred persons to the neighborhood of Bas- 
ing, the seat of the Marquis of Winchester, to whom the 
Queen was then paying one of those burdensome and 
sometimes ruinous visits with which it was, in those times, 
customary for our English monarchs to honor their sub- 
jects. Biron took up his abode at the Vine, a seat of Lord 
Sandys, furnished with seven-score beds from the neigh- 
boring gentry, and with furniture from the Queen's palace 
for the foreign guests. The festival which here took place 
is said to have been one of tlie most continued and sump- 
tuous entertainments ever given on a royal progress.* 
Among ten persons whom the Queen, contrary to her 
usual proceeding, knighted at one time, was Carew, that 
younger brother of Sir Walter Ralegh,t who afterwards 
sold liis patrimonial estates of Widdycombe, Ralegh, and 
Fardel ; and, removing from his native county, became the 
ancestor of the Raleghs of Wiltshire, who flourished long 
after the reign of Elizabeth. J Sir Carew was favored, in 
several instances, by Queen Elizabeth, and held the office 
of steward of her manor of Gillingliam in Gloucester- 
shire. 5 

Two inferences are deducible from tlie circumstance of 
his being knighted at Basing. First, we are led to surmise 
that Ralegh was probably present upon such an occasion, 
and that he participated in the festivities given in honor 
of Biron ; and, secondly, we are brought to a still more 
certain conclusion that Ralegh's favor, in the estimation of 
Elizabeth, had in no degree suffered from liis recent sliare 
j/^Q, in the cabals against Essex. During tlie month of 
October in this year parliament met, the last^in 
Elizabeth's reign, and the first of which there is a list ex- 
tant of the members. II Sir Walter and his brother botli 
served in this parliament ; the one for Cornwall, the other 
for Foway in that county. Sir Walter on this occasion 
made- a very creditable and conspicuous figure in the 
House of Commons ; in his speech against the act to pro- 
mote tlie sowing of hemp. It was his opinion that the 

* Nicholl's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 6. t Ibid. 

t Note in Oldys, p. 139. § Ibid 

il Oldys, p 13!t, fiom Ti)\viisliciid's Historical Ccl lections. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 113 

penalties enforced by this statute, in some instances, re- 
tarded the progress of agriculture ; in others, that it obliged 
those to plow who were scarcely able to furnish the 
seed-corn to sow the land. " I do not," said he, " like this 
constraining of men to manure the ground at our wills ; 
but rather let every man use his ground for that which it 
is most fit for, and therein use his own discretion. For 
where the law provides that every man must plow the 
third of his land, I know divers poor people have done so 
to avoid the penalty of the statute, when their abilities 
have been so poor that they have not been able to buy 
seed-corn to sow it ; nay, they have been fain to hire 
others to plow it, which if it had been unplowed, would 
have been good pasture for beasts, or might have been con- 
verted to otlier good uses." The bill was afterwards 
thrown out by a majority of a hundred and sixty-two to a 
hundred and three.* Ralegh next spoke in favor of the 
subsidy ; a question on which he was opposed by Bacon, 
who contended in favor of collecting the demand of three 
hundred thousand pounds from the poor as well as the rich ; 
a measure which was adopted, and which was afterwards 
acknowledged by Ralegh to be necessary to make up 
the sum. In his Prerogative of Parliaments, he informs 
us, liowever, that his solicitude to tax the better sort only, 
was suggested by the Queen herself, who " desired much 
to save the common people ;" and that he did so by her 
command.f 

The subject of monopolies was next discussed ; and in 
this the personal interests of Ralegh were peculiarly con- 
cerned. This theme of discussion related to a practice 
which had not first originated with Elizabeth ; but it had 
been carried to a greater extent by her than by her prede- 
cessors, for a reason creditable to her subjects, but preju- 
dicial to tlieir comforts. The great achievements which 
the age had witnessed were so numerous among the Eng- 
lisli, that Elizabeth was unable to reward her subjects in a 
manner adequate to their merits, except by granting pat- 
ents for monopolies, which were sold to those persons 
who desired to trade in any particular article. J The con- 
sequences of these grants may readily be conceived, — -the 



* Oldys, p. 139. fi-om Townshend's Historical Collections, 
t Ralegh's Prerogative of Parliaments. J Hume. 

K2 



114 LIFE OF SIK WALTER EALEGH. 

immense and unfair prices imposed upon the public, to the 
great deterioration of trade, and the odium justly incurred 
by those who were tlie instruments and gainers in this 
species of oppression. Every possible commodity for the 
purposes of luxury, or the means of amusement, and even 
the necessaries of life, were under the control of these 
patentees, wlio were armed with powers from government 
to enforce tlicir privileges, and to le\'y fines upon those 
vvliom they charged with interfering in their patent. Not 
only was an immoderate and arbitrary price thus affixed to 
every article, but industry and competition were precluded, 
ill-will promoted, and liberty curtailed; many of the pat- 
entees having the power to enter any place, where they 
imagined that goods, which they had licenses for selling, 
were secreted.* It may be mentioned as an additional 
evil of this extraordinary system, that whilst commerce 
was diminished and tlie number of vexatious statutes and 
limitations multiplied ; whilst the middling classes were 
shackled and tlie poor oppressed, the spirit thus engendered 
among the nobility was paltry and debasing ; avarice was 
cherished ; and a disregard to the interests of our fellow- 
men necessarily associated with notions of selfish aggran- 
dizement 

When Ralegh, with other of the monopolists, appeared 
in the debate on this question, he defended himself with 
considerable spirit and eloquence against any peculiar 
censure attaching to his own conduct, and affirmed his 
willingness to give up his patent in case of tlie rest being 
also repealed.! H^ explained the nature of his patent, 
wliich was chiefly for tin, and which he affirmed had bene- 
fited the poor miners by raising their weekly earnings from 
two to four shillings. He informed the house that it was 
the same as that which the dukes of Cornwall had hitherto 
been allowed to exercise. He inveighed in strong terms 
against otlier monopolies, especially against that possessed 
by Sir Henry Neville for the transportation of ordnance, 
by which even the Spaniards were provided with instru- 
ments for our destruction. It was remarked that a long 
and profound silence followed this speech. It is painful 
to deteriorate from the merit of Ralegh in the sacrifice 
which he proposed ; but he was probably aware of the 

* Hume, reign of Elizabeth, 8vo. edition, p. 324. t Birch, p. 46. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 115 

Queen's intention with respect to monopolies. The most 
jx)pular act of her reign was her ready acquiescence to the 
opinions and wishes of lier parliament, in this instance ; 
her repeal of some of the most grievous of the licenses, and 
the gracious manner in which the proposition was prof- 
fered : and never was gratitude expressed in a more ful- 
some, obsequious, and almost profane manner, than on this 
occasion.* Besides the proceedings which have been enu- 
merated, Ralegh voted also for the repeal of a statute of 
tillage, enacted in time of dearth, and for other bills of 
local or of passing importance. 

During the period of his life which embraced the last 
ten years of Elizabeth's reign, Ralegh devoted considera- 
ble attention to the concerns of Cornwall, and found lei- 
sure, notwitlistanding the pressure of public business, to 
study its antiquities and to cherish its interests. He pro- 
cured tlie restoration of seventeen manors in that county 
to their ancient tenure, which was disputed at Nisi Prius, 
although it had subsisted for three centuries. The tenants 
had deputed Richard Carew of Anthony, one of the deputy- 
lieutenants of Cornwall, to present a petition to Lord Bur- 
leigh, entreating the continuance of their ancient privi- 
leges ; and this remonstrance was seconded by Ralegh, 
who, whilst residing in the west of England, wrote earn- 
estly in behalf of tlie supplicants. He also prevented the 
imposition of an ancient tax upon the curing of fish, im- 
posed in the time of Henry the Second, and now revived 
by some interested persons, who, under pretence of serving 
the crown, sought to obtain patents to prevent the salting 
and drying of fish without licenses. The destruction of 
this branch of commerce, and the oppression of the poor 
Corniili trader, formerly heavily burdened with fines to the 
ancient earls of Cornwall, were the consequences of this 
dishonorable attempt to enrich private individuals at the 
expense of the community.f Ralegh applied the whole 
force of his interests, and the strength of his arguments, 
to prevent a result so injurious to the prosperity of Corn- 
wall, of which he was then lieutenant. His next exertions 
related to the reduction of tlie taxes upon the manufacture 
of tin ; and in this matter, which was disputed before the 
council, he was equally successful ; joining personally in 

• Hume, 8vo. p. 328. f OWys, pp. 128, 189. 



116 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

the discussion, in which he attempted to restore the privi- 
lege of pre-emption, founded in the reign of Edward the 
First. The exercise of this privilege was afterwards vested 
in Ralegh, as the person most qualified to regulate it judi- 
ciously and impartially.* For the zeal with which he 
promoted these regulations, Ralegh obtained the encomiums 
of Richard Carew, one of the numerous branches of the 
ancient family of that name, and better known as the au- 
thor of a " Survey of Cornwall ;" — a work which he dedi- 
cated to Ralegh, with a flattering, but apparently well- 
merited address. In this composition, Ralegh is assured, 
that whilst he exercises an extensive command, both civil 
and military, over the people of Cornwall, he possesses a 
far greater interest in "their hearts and loves" by his 
kindness. " Your ears and mouth have ever been open to 
hear and deliver our grievances ; and your feet and hands 
ready to go and work their redress ; and that, not only as 
a magistrate of yourself, but also, very often, as a suitor 
and solicitor to others of the highest place.f" Such was 
the language in which the benevolent labors of Ralegh for 
the lower classes of Cornwall were eulogized. Happy 
had it been for him, if his views had been henceforward 
limited to philanthropic endeavors to promote the local 
benefit of his countrymen, or in the advancement of scien- 
tific and literary knowledge. 

In conducting the concerns over which his situation of 
lord warden of the stannaries, and other occasional offices, 
required him to preside, Ralegh found considerable assist- 
ance from his antiquarian researches, which afterwards 
became highly important, and which were extended by him 
to the study of history. 

The study of antiquities, and of all pursuits connected 
with history, .was then much in vogue ; and considerable 
opportunities were afforded for the most intricate and im- 
portant researches, from the dispersion of many valuable 
tracts from the .monasteries but recently dissolved, and 
from the visitations of our universities and colleges.f Stim- 
ulated by these inducements, a society of antiquarians had 
been formed in 1572, under the auspices of Archbishop 
Parker, the patron of the revival of the Saxon language. 
To this learned association Ralegh belonged, until the 

* Oldys, pp. 128, 129. flbid- f Biographia Britannica, art. Cotton. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 117 

illiberal and impolitic jealousy of tlie government crushed 
in their commencement the exertions which, if freely ex- 
ercised at so advantageous a period, might have proved 
liighly beneficial to our national literature; and would, 
perhaps, have illuminated many of those obscure points of 
our history, concerning which, conjecture and disputation 
will never, in all probability, be at rest. In vain, however, 
had the Society petitioned Queen Elizabeth to be incorpo- 
rated into a society or academy for the study of antiquities. 
Devoted to the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, that 
princess desired not to run the risk of interfermg with those 
important institutions ; and her example was not only fol- 
lowed by her successor, but umbrage taken at the frequent 
meetings of the antiquarians, to whom the suspicious 
temper of the government attached sinister aiid dangerous 
motives. 

Under these unfavorable circumstances, the Society was 
dissolved ;* but its important objects were pursued sedu- 
lously, although with far less facility, by individuals. In- 
deed if we affix to the reign of James the First any distinct 
literary era, it would probably be that of antiquarian lore ; 
and if we recall the names of Verstegan, Camden, Speed, 
Cotton, Selden, Bacon, Ralegh, and of many other eminent 
persons, we shall acknowledge, that, although the efforts 
of the antiquaries may have been circumscribed, their en- 
thusiasm in the cause was not, perhaps, diminished by op- 
position. At the time of Ralegh's association in this infant 
and oppressed society, the meetings were held in the apart- 
ments of the garter king at arms (supposed to have been 
Sir William Dethewick), at Derby House, which is now 
appropriated to the Herald's Office.f Among the names 
of tlie early members were those not only of the retired 
and humble laborers in the pursuit of knowledge, but of 
the great, the wealthy, and the warlike. The elder Bur- 
leigh, Sir Philip Sydney, and the Herberts, Eai^ of Pem- 
broke, were thus brought into contact with the indefatiga- 
ble Stow, Spelman, Camden, Cotton, Hooker, and Selden. 

* Until a more favorable era, as far as royal indulgence was con- 
cerned, but a far lees advantageous one for the researches into those 
memorials, many of which had been dilapidated, and some altogether 
destroyed, in the civil wars. It was revived in 1707, and in 1751 incor- 
porated by George the Second. 

t Oldys, p. 130. 



118 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

With some of these eminent men, Ralegh maintained an 
intimacy, creditable and advantageous to himself; to others 
lie afforded the assistance which liis abundant means ena- 
bled liiiH, at this time, to afford : from several he obtained, 
in the progress of his own works, those aids which the 
learned and curious can alone supply. 

Among those to whom the learned were principally 
indebted for the stores of information which his own dili- 
gence and liberality enabled him to dispense, was Sir 
Robert Cotton, whose name, as long as our national library 
exists, will never be forgotten ; nor should it ever be re- 
membered except with gratitude. To him Ralegh, in the 
latter part of his days, whilst in prison, applied for some 
of those valuable corner-stones of knowledge upon which 
a fabric of extensive interest and importance might se- 
curely be reared. Sir Robert Cotton bore the same rela- 
tion to Ralegh, and to many others, as that in which the 
mineralogist, who tries and discovers the vein of ore, stands 
to liim who raises the precious metal from the earth, and 
displays it in the most pleasing form to an admiring world. 
Consulted as an oracle by the learned men of his time, he 
Jiad supplied manuscript materials for the histories of Cam- 
den, Hayward,* Speed, Bacon, Selden, as well as for that 
afterwards published by Ralegh.f Employed from the 
early age of eighteen in the collection of manuscripts, few 
persons had more to bestow than Sir Robert Cotton ; and 
wiiat was next in importance, none had a greater disposi- 
tion to render his accumulated treasures useful to others. 
There were subjects upon which it was not in tliose days 
deemed sufficient for historical writers to trust to the re- 
ports of others : and it was not uncommon for antiquaries 
to make long, and, in the absence of regular travelling 
accommodations, tedious journeys, to any particular spot 
which thev desired to commemorate. It was about the 
time wheir Ralegh's name is first associated with the So- 
ciety of Antiquaries, that the excursion of Camden and of 
Cotton to Carlisle was undertaken, and a part of the Picts' 
wall, still preserved at Connington, brouglit away for tlie 
inspection of the curious. So great was tlie fame of Sir 
Robert Cotton's collection, that no work of importance was 
commenced without referruig to that compendium of chart- 

* See Hayward's Life of Edward VI. t Biograpliia Britannica. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 119 

ers, records, and other documents. Wedded to his manu- 
scripts, and in tlie peaceful prosecution of literary studies, 
he long; survived tlie less happy Ralegh ; so that all access 
to his stores of learning was, during Ralegh's life, requested 
as a personal favor. After eflecting as much, in the ser- 
vice of historical truth, as it appears possible, in the short 
span of life, to accomplish, Sir Robert left his inestimable 
library to his family, with such a security in his will against 
the chance of its being sold or dispersed, that posterity 
should have the benefit of referring to it as a collection.* 

Wliilst Ralegh thus enriched his works with contribu- 
tions from Sir Robert Cotton, he had the credit of afiording 
aid to his relative John Hooker in tlie compilation of his 
" Records of Devon. f" This industrious antiquary, the 
assistant of Holinshcd in his great work, the Chronicles 
of Britain, was the uncle of Richard Hooker, author of 
the justly celebrated work on Ecclesiastical Polity. These 
ingenious and learned men were remotely related to Ra- 
legh, and were both born in Devonshire, which Camden 
describes as a "countrey fruitfuU of noble wits." J Hooker 
dedicated his Supplement to the Chronicles of Ireland, in 
Holinshed, to Ralegh : and in that address to his relative 
and patron he has testified his gratitude for the benefits 
conferred, and his respect for the talents possessed, by that 
valuable friend. 

The assistance afforded to Hooker by Ralegh proves 
liow considerable a proficiency he must have attained in 
antiquarian researches ; and he appears to have had a col- 
lection of manuscripts, — the learned Selden applying to 

* This collection consists in MSS. in loose skins, or bound np in vol- 
umes, sometimes many upon different subjects in one cover. They came 
into the possession of Sir Robert (Cotton, sometimes by legacy, sometimes 
by purchase ; and were collected at visitations, upon the dissolution ot' 
the monasteries. The Cotton library was much augmented by his sons. 
Sir 'I'homas and Sir John Cotton, and remained in the family residence, 
in Westminster, near the House of Commons. In the reign of William 
HI. an act ofparliament was passed for securing it in the family of the 
Cottons; but Cotton House was afterwards bought from the great-grand- 
son of Sir Robert, by Ciuecn Anne, and was made a repository both for 
the Cottonian and the Royal Library. Some yi>ars afterwards, it was 
removed to a house near Westminster Abbey belonging to the crown; 
where a fire breaking out in 1731, one hundred and eleven books were 
lost, burnt, or wholly defaced, and ninety-nine rendered imperfect. It 
was afterwards removed to the dormitory of Westminster School, and 
since to the British Museum. Note in Biog. art. Cotton. 

t A work which has never been printed. Oldys, p 5. 

I Camden, p. 514. 



120 LIFE OP sm WAT.TER RAT.EGir. 

liim for the loan of some from his librarj'.* Tlio acquaint- 
ance with this indefatigable man, which must, in all prob- 
ability, either liave preceded, or have been the consequence 
of an application of this nature from Sclden, was an advan- 
tajre to any person interested in such pursuits, which may 
scarcely be expected to occur again : for Selden, — endowed 
as he was with almost unparalleled energy, with an admi- 
rable foundation of learning, and living, as he did, when 
literary men mingled but little in the gaieties and pleas- 
ures of the world, and seldom quitted their retirements ex- 
cept when some urgent question of politics or religion 
called them forth, — had the good fortune, like Sir Robert 
Cotton, to reap the benefit of those monastic wrecks, 
which none but the learned knew how to prize ; and which 
therefore became, at a moderate expense of every thing 
but time, their property. Hence he tbund materials for 
liis work on the Dominion of the Kings of England over 
the Narrow Seas, chiefly from the monastic recordsf ; and 
happily conciliated the displeasure of James I. towards 
him on account of some former works, by settling a dis- 
puted right to the fisheries on our coasts, to which the 
Dutch had lately set claim.J Partly by these means, also, 
Scldon was enabled to collect the valuable library which 
he Icrt, with an earnest injunction to his executors to dis- 
tribute it among themselves, rather than expose it to pub- 
lic sale. In consequence of his further remark, that it 
would suit some public library, or college, they considered 
it, however, right to remove it to some chambers in the 
King's Bench \Valk; but no house being provided for it 
by that Society, — in that instance displaying neither learn- 
ing nor wisdom, — it was placed in rooms added purposely 
to tlie Bodleian Library, with a Latin inscription in the 
apartment, denoting the gratitude and respect of those who 
received the munificent gift. Thus, within a very short 
space of time, were three valuable collections, which, if 
once dispersed, could never have been replaced, conferred 
ujjon public institutions. 

In being contemporary with Bodley, Selden, and Cotton, 
Ralogh in all probability enjoyed not only the benefit of 
these collections, but, what is in all cases more important, 

♦ Oldys, p. 130. t Preface to Tanner's Nolitia, p. 57. 

\ This work was published 1630, long afler being written, and wag 
dedicated to Charles 1. King. 



I 

i.n K or r^iu WAi.Ti',!; It M.icii j:;ii 

tiini ntUieir counselB and conversations, 'i'lie niintl almost 
f ickens to Icarn with certainly to what extent his comrnu- 
nicatioiis witli these great men proceeded : but there are, 
nniiappily, no traces of any thinf>- more than the facts that 
he exchanged with thein mutual good offices. 

Contrary to that which commonly occurs with learned 
men, Selden, obscure in his mode of writing, and apt to 
crowd his works with an oppressive and perplexing weight 
of learned matter, had, in his conversation, according to 
Ixinl Clarendon, " the best faculty of making hard things 
easy."* By the same admirable judge, " he was accoimted 
a person whom no character can flatter ; so conversant with 
I'ooks that you would have thought his whole life passed 
i;i roaduig; yet his humanity was such, that you would 
have tiiought him bred in courts."f Yet Selden, like Ra- 
higli, was subjected to representations of a far different 
nature ; and whilst he was sometimes accused of being 
harsh in his nature and manners, he was not only reproba- 
ted by the clergy, and prosecuted by the desire of King 
.fames (or a work controvei-ting the divine right of tithes, 
but was suspected by some persona of infidelity, or, in the 
fashionable language of that day, Hobbism ; a charge from 
which he has been strenuously defended by Raxler, upon 
the authority of Sir Matthew Halc.| 

The circumstance of Ralegh's supplying Selden with 
Itooks, leads to the conclusion that Selden, in return, may 
liavi^ afforded some assistance to Ralegh in his historical 
works. The work on the Prerogative of Parliaments, 
which he dedicated to King James, was the first which he 
published requiring hi.storicai accuracy ; but it is uncertain 
at what time he began, or whether he was actually the 
author of an "Introduction to a Breviary of the History of 
England, with the Reign of William I., entitled the Con- 
queror," and published in 1693, from the MSS. of Arch- 
bishop Sancroll, by Dr. Moore, afterwards Bishop of Ely. 
By one of the biographers of Ralegh the authenticity of 
this piece is "doubted ^ ; but its resemblance in style to the 
usual composition of his writings appears to afford some 
internal evidence of its being his production. It has been 
also conjectured, that this was one of the works which em- 
ployed his latter daysjl ; but upon this subject, since many 



• Clnrcndon's Cliaractors. Reliquia; WottonitB, p. 
t Biog. Brit. t Ibid. § Cayley, vol. ii. p. 188. 



138. 

If Ibid. p. 18G. 



122 m'K OF (^IR VVALTEU RAI,t:(!H 

years ohipstHl betwoon his death and tlio piiblieatioii, the 
{freatest possible uncertainty restis. Mojiy ot" his works 
remained lon^ in miuuiscript; tor in the ptM-iotl of tl»o civil 
wars, circunistimceB were untuvi>rabK' to tl»e reception of 
his works in j)«rticuhir, luul to tlie publication jjenerally ot" 
literary prcxhictions. SSuch, however, was tlie wortli ia 
which Riile<jix'» works were held by tiie celebrated Joini 
llaiupden, tliat he was at the expense of liavhiij three 
tliousjind four hunilred and tit\y-two sheets of llalejrh's 
manuscripts transcribed a short time before tlie civil wars; 
— tin amanuensis beinij furnished witli tire and candle, and 
a private ajMirtment, witiian attendant to deliver the orijji- 
nals into his hiuids, tuui to receive his copies as sixni as 
tliey were tinislied.* The writinjjs themselves, many of 
wliich have since been publisiied, justly nieritwl tliis tribute 
from the patriot, who probably found in them tlie seeds of 
many valuable ideas of our constitution and jjovermnent. 
That Il^ile^h availed himself of tlie best stnirces of intbrma- 
tion to enrich his works, is obvious, not only from his con- 
nexion witli tlie Society of Antitpiaries, and from his com- 
munication witJi tJie injjenious men of whom it was com- 
posed ; but from his encourajjement of tiiose institutions 
which could aid liun and oUier students in the projjress of 
knowledtje. Thus, whilst he lent books to Selden, ho 
also confributeil tJie sum of titly pounds to aujjmeiit tJie 
IkxUeian IJbrary.f 

In his days of prosperity, Raleofh was associated not only 
witli the studious and erudite, but witJi tlic witty luid ini- 
anfiimtive characters who illumined tlie sixteenth century. 
Before the accession of Jiunes, llaleijli instituted a meeting' 
of intellectual men at tlie Mermaid, a celebrated tavern 
in Friday-street, I To this club, Shaksj)eare, Beaumont, 
Fletcher, Jonson, Selden, Cotton, Carew, Martin, Donne, 
and many other distiiifjuislied literary men, were accus- 
tomed to repair ; formiiifj^ an association certainly unri- 
valled in any precedinjj time, uneipialled by any subse- 
quent assemblage, and, in all probability, not likely to be 
witnessed in our own days. Here, in tlie luxiUy of unre- 
strained and congenial society, were to be heard the " wit- 

• IJoyd'a Worthies. See Cayloy, p. 180. f Cayloy, vol. ii. 

} Uillbrd's Life of Ben Jonsoii, p. 65, prcti.xo<l to an ctlitioii of liis 
works 



LIFE OF PIU WAI/n:it KAMCGII. 123 

combata" of Shaksi)care iind JonBon,* luul Ihc {jrnvfi dis- 
quisitions of Seidell, (.'ottoii, and ]lulef;fli ; but if wo umy 
credit the attractive «Iescri|)tion of the poet,! playfid rail- 
lery, exalted by the jiower of fj^enius, predominated over 
abstruse discussion. 

" What thiiigH liuvc \\v suuii 

Done at the Munnaiil I lit-nril worila that have Ix^cii 
80 niiiihlc, and ho lull nf siihllo flame, 

Ak ii'tliat uv(!ry oiiu froiii whom Ihcy cuiiio 
Had meant to put his wit in a jeNt," &.c. 

The result of such comnmnic»tions as these, is frequent- 
ly a close intimacy between Hiich of tiie parties aH dis- 
cover in eacii otliur that indefinable power of sympathy, 
best described by the term coiiircniality, wliicli is f<)und to 
be so capricious in its application, yet so dclif»'htfiii in its 
consequences. ^ That tliis bond did not e.xist between Ila- 
lej^h and Jonson, is evident from the opinion (;nt,<;rtained 
of the former by the {jreat dramatist. At what time their 
acquaintiince commenced ; ii|)on whot principles or with 
what sentiment.s it was continued ; or how far it was ce- 
mented, or rather per|)etuatcd, by ol)lifjations on one sido 
or on the other; — are iwints ol' extreme uncertainty. 
Tliere is no doubt of their introduction to eac^h otlier liavinjy 
tak(>n place in Jonson's youth and in Raloirli's middle 
age; tor Jonson was twenty-two years younper than Ila- 
le<,'h, and was scarcely arrived at the zenith of his fame 
when the unfortunate Ralefrh was in the d(!cline lM)tii of 
his natural existence and of liis fortunes. It is well known 
that Jonson, althoupfh a nitin of orij^inally jrocxl family, 
was reduced by the imprisonment of his father in the reiprn 
of Queen Mary, and by the second marriafje of his mother 
with a bricklayer, to work in that craft for his subsistence. 
For this purpose he was taken from St. John's ('ollofre, 
Cttiribridf^e, whither he was sent atler reccnvinj,' at West- 
minster school the instructions of the celebrated, and no 
less virtuous, Camden. Reduced to this condition, in 



♦ Urferred to hy Fuller. "Many," Boys he, " were the wit romliiili'H 
betweciK! Hen Joniion and Sliiiki^HiXiart?. I bi^hold them like a Siiiiiiixli 
crcat cnllcon and an KncliKh man of war. MaHter .loriMoii, like ilix 
l°Mrnir-r, wnK limit Tar higher in learnini;, Holid, hut hIow in IiIh pi'ifoini 
.-inc eH. Hhakespoare, like the Intler, leMser in hulk, hut lighter in miliric 
rould turn with all tides, tark Hliout. and lake adv;nifri(je of all wirnN 
hy the qiiicknoiia nr lii;< wit and invi Mlion " Fuller vrd ii n ilTi 

t Jonion 



124 LIFE OF ^IR WALTER KALEGH- 

which the aspirations of an intelligent mind and tlxe en- 
joyments of imagination may be presumed to have added 
a species of tantalizing torture to tlie mortifications of low 
pursuits and the privations of penury, Jonson is stilted to 
have been selected by Ralegh as the tutor of his son Wal- 
ter, witli the cJiarge of accompanying him in his travels 
abroad. It wotild be agreeable to the partial biogrnphers 
of Ralegh if tliis fact could be accredited. That he had 
discernment to perceive, and liberality to prize merit in an 
humble, and, to a man of classical education, degrading 
station, would be a consideration both creditable to Inni 
and gratifying to all who 4vish well to liis memory. Tlie 
statement is, however, widely at variance with truth. It 
has been accompanied by the assertion that it was Camden 
wlio recommended Jonson to Ralegh.* That this wa.s the 
origin of their acquaintance may be true; but that it could 
not have been with the view of Jonson's undertaking tlie 
tuition of young Ralegh is obvious, from the fact that at 
this period of Johnson's life tlie supposed object of his in- 
structions was not in existence, — his birtli happening in 
the year 1595, when Jonson was serving as a vohniteor 
in Fianders.t 

The anecdotes, too lightly admitted as authentic, of the 
young student's contempt tor his master, and of his sending 
the poet, when intoxicated, in a basket to Sir Walter, are 
refuted by this simple remembrance of certain dates ; and 
happily, both for the tutor and for the pupil, no such dis- 
grace seems to have befallen tlie one, nor sucli example to 
have disgusted the other of the parties. 

From all that can be gathered on this subject, it may be 
inferred that no cordial intimacy nor bond of gratitude sul>- 
sisted between Ralegh and Ben Jonson. The j)oet is 
said to have admired the talents of his eminent contempo- 
rary, but to have distrusted his sincerity.J He is even as- 
serted to liave remarked, that Sir Walter Ralegh " es- 
teemed more fame than conscience. J" Perhaps tliere are 
few men, wlio, like Ben Jonson, see closely into the 
darkest passions and into tlie most liidden motives of human 
nature, and who yet are able to divest their minds of sus- 
picion, and their hearts of that contamination which pro- 



• GifTord, p. t t Ihid. p. x. 

\ tbid p xi f Tliid. p. rxxu 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER KALEGH. 125 

ceeds from a long contemplation of vice, sufficiently, to 
render a just tribute of approbation to the virtues of others. 
It is probable, also, that party feelings may have influer^ced 
Jonson's opinion of llalegh ; for whilst tlie latter was dis- 
graced, and eventually deprived both of liberty and life, 
by James the First, Jonson was the peculiar favorite of 
that monarch as a dramatist, and was consequently disposed 
to view political questions much in the same point of view 
as tlie sovereign whom he served. His sentiments with 
respect to Ralegh must not, tlicrefore, be allowed to influ- 
ence us without some caution : otherwise, as a Contempora- 
ry, and as an associate in the far-famed meetings at the 
Mermaid, Jonson must be allowed to have had ample 
means of forming an estimate of Ralegh's character. 

He was besides employed in assisting Ralegh in the 
compilation of the History of the World, to the frontispiece 
of which he wrote some good lines.* Jonson, like many 
great writers of the time, had an excellent library, col- 
lected, by degrees, from his own scanty means, and con- 
taining more scarce and valuable books than any otlier 
private collection in the kingdom. Selden, in referring to 
a book possessed by Jonson, has not omitted to indulge in 
that which is to generous minds a gratification — the op- 
portunity to eulogize both his friend the dramatist, and his 
library ;t . commending not only his talents as a poet, but 
that " special worth in literature, accurate judgment, and 
performance known only to the few who are truly able to 
know him." Among these, Ralegh, it is obvious, was so 
fortunate as to benefit largely from the acquirements of 
Jonson, although he may not have shared in the affection 
and good opinion of that remarkable, and, in a peculiar 
line, almost unrivalled genius. 

It were endless to enumerate the illustrious men of 
this period with whom Ralegh, in all probability, was per- 
sonally acquainted. That little of his correspondence has 
been preserved, except where it related to his public con- 
cerns, is a circumstance to be seriously regretted, f The 
man who could boast of intimate communication with 
Shakspeare, Beaumont, and Jonson, must, witliout relation 

*Giffbrd, note xi. t Ibid. p. 147, note, 

t See some letters in the Appendix, collected from the State Paper Of- 
fice, and now first published. 

L2 



126 LIFE OF SIR WALTEK RALEGH. 

to his own natural or acquired talents, have merited well 
the care of his surviving relatives and executors to his 
slightest epistolary comjwsitions : but when we consider 
how valuable and how interesting would have been, not 
tlie remarks as relating only to otiiors, but as conveying 
the sentiments of the relater, we are tempted to revile at 
the supiiieness or carelessness of those to whom the papers 
of Sir Walter Ralegh were committetl. Perliaps it may 
be observed, and with some appearance of justice, that his 
life was so chequered with incidents, so occupied with tlie 
active business of life, that he may have had little inclina- 
tion, and found little leisure, to enter into the engrossing 
occujxition of communicating his thoughts on literary sub- 
jects to otlicrs. To this, those wlio have perused the few 
of Ralegh's letters still extant may reply, that they display 
ail ease and fluency vvhicli can only be acquired by habit: 
they are, in fact, specimens of tlie most perfect mode of 
expression, whetlier tlicy relate to tlie emotions of tlie ui- 
niost soul, its cares, its tenderness, or its hopes, or whether 
they comprise simple narrative and expliuiation. In all 
his works Ralegh describes that in which he was at any 
time peculiarly concerned witli a distinctness, animation, 
and force of language in which few of our English writers 
have excelled him. Tliat which he carried to such per- 
fection, he probably indulged in as a recreation. He has 
left us, of his familiar corres{U)ndence, enough only to e..x- 
cite a strong desire for more abundant means of judging 
of his excellence in tiiis line. 

The season was now nearly at an end for Ralegh's tran- 
quil enjoyment of social or literary conversation, or for 
study undisturbed by corroding anxieties. In the begin- 
ning of tliis year, the Queen, who was now in her seven- 
tieth year, betrayed more plainly tliose symptoms of decay 
which had been obvious to her attendants since the deatli 
of Essex. By determined temperance, both in abstaining 
from wine, and in lier diet, she had hitherto preserved un- 
injured tlie vigor of a constitution which seemed tbniied by 
nature to encounter tlie caros ;uid risks of myalty. Slie 
was wont to say, "that temperance was the noblest part of 
physic;" an admirable sentiment, but wliich. with the pre- 
judice of one who hail o\c'r been accustomed loan obsequi- 
ous conipliunoo with hvr opinions, she rariird sro iar as to 
reject nil nid ->f medicine wliru sickucs.* .nlii,»lly asailed 



hlFB OF SIR WALTER RALEGU. 127 

her. Perhaps she may have been aware tliat the sufferings 
of a mind diseased constituted her only specific complaint, 
and that her malady had passed the influence of human 
ministration. She had now recourse to those aids wliich, 
if sincerely resorted to, arc never ineffectual in any season 
of life. She frequented divine service, and had prayers 
read in her presence more frequently than ever ; quitting 
Westminster also for Richmond, to enjoy quiet of body, and 
religious repose. Yet the unhappy closing days of her ex- 
istence were embittered not only by those regrets for Es- 
sex, which died only when she herself expired, but by the 
intrigues of her courtiers with Jier presumed successor, 
James the Sixth, and by the neglect to which her acute- 
ness and experience could not remain insensible. Once, 
when in a state of irritation, she exclaimed in the bitter- 
ness of her heart, " They have yoked my neck ; I have 
none in whom I may trust; my estate is turned upside 
down!*" — a complaint which was wrung from her, by the 
advice of some of her courtiers to send for James even be- 
fore her days were ended. Elizabeth was, however, 
avenged for this desertion and ingratitude by the regrets 
of those who knew her best, when they became competent 
judges of the prince to whom they paid such sedulous and 
indelicate attentions ; and when, too late, it was discovered 
how great a prize had been lost when she ceased to sway 
tlie sceptre.f Meanwhile, Cecil and most of her approved 
lUid veteran counsellors wore in secret correspondence with 
James, exalting his merits in his own eyes, — a very un- 
necessary labor, — and seeking to depreciate the merits of 
their expiring sovereign.| Even her godson, Sir John Har- 
rington, thought it not unseemly to lavish his ingenuity 
upon a new-year's gift, presented by him to James at 
Christmas, in the year 1602, consisting of a dark lantern 
made of four metals, with a crown of pure gold on the top, 
and within a silver shield, to give reflection to the light, on 
one side of which was the sun, the moon, and seven stars ; 
the whole explained by the inscription, borrowed, with no 
very scrupulous taste, from the words of the poor thief who 
was crucified with our Lord and Savior, — " Lord, remem- 

♦ Camden, p. 5A5. 

t NugEB Antiqiisc, vol i. Sfc I,ptli'r fioinSir R, Cecil to . 

J Camden. Osborn 



128 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ber me when I come into thy kingdom ! *" But Harring- 
ton, although favored by James, learned afterwards to bless 
the Queen's memory ,1 and to compare her address, practi- 
cal wisdom, and clear understanding, with the awkward 
conceit^ prejudice, and mixture of learauig and folly, which 
characterized her successor. 

Whilst the Queen declined daily, ambitious persons of 
every denomination flocked into Scotland, both by sea and 
land, to pay their adorations to the nortliern luminary who 
w-as soon to enlighten this nether hemisphere. Even Cecil, 
who had been as prompt as any of his contemporaries in 
endeavoring to secure his own footing with James, thought 
it not beneath him to deceive his royal mistress with a 
contemptible falsehood, when surprised one day by the ar- 
rival of a packet from Scotland whilst he was riding with 
Her Majesty upon Blackheath. Elizabeth, inquiring from 
whence the dispatch came, and hearing that it was from 
Scotland, stopped her coach, and desired that it might be 
delivered. Cecil, pretending to be equally anxious, called 
for a knife to cut the string ; but when it was opened, as- 
sured the Queen that it consisted of old musty parclunents, 
which it would trouble Her Highness to endure. There 
were seasons when Elizabeth's acuteness would have detect- 
ed this subterfuge, and when her pride would not have sub- 
mitted to this imposition ; but her spirits were broken, and 
her mind, during her later years, had been entirely sub- 
jected to the dominion of Cecil. The messenger was dis- 
missed, that tlie packet might be purified before being ad- 
mitted to the royal presence ; and the minister enjoyed the 
self-gratulation of having outwitted the monarch, whom he 
afterwards described as " more than a man, and (in troth) 
sometimes less than a woman.|" Such was tlie address of 
Cecil, that, whilst cajoling Elizabeth, he conciliated James ; 
and although, like Ralegh and Harrington, he was, to use 
the words of the latter, " nearly lost upon the coast of Es- 
sex," he contrived to avoid all the evils which accrued to 
Ralegh fi-om the death of the unfortunate Earl. To what ex- 
tent he contributed to the mischief which afterwards en- 
sued to those who co-operated with liim in that affair, will 
appear, as fer as history has enlightened us on the subject. 

♦ NugtB AntiqutB, p. 326. t Ibid. p. 355. 

} Nugro Antiqiitp, 345. Letter from Cecil to Harrington. 



LIFE or SIR WALTKK KALEGil. 129 

Meanwhile, he contrived to adopt that policy bj' which his 
own preservation was secured. Cecil had all the narrow- 
ness of an ambitious statesman ; liis father, with equal dis- 
cretion, would have pursued a more upright course in se- 
curing the same ends, than his artful and able son deemed 
it expedient to adopt. 

But all necessity for subterfuge, as far as Elizabeth was 
concerned, was shortly to be at an end ; and those, who for 
motives of private interest, or of public opinion, desired to 
see James upon her throne, were soon gratified by the ful- 
filment of their wishes. In the beginning of JVIarcli, a 
heaviness, with a frowardness common in old age, an in- 
difference to food, and a dislike to any subject but that 
which excited religious reflections, intimated that her days 
were fast hastening to a close. In this extremity, her 
faithful servant, the Lord Howard of Effingham, sliared 
her confidence to the last, and continued in his assiduous 
attendance on her. To him, and to the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, she chiefly addressed her conversation ; and to 
the latter she named, as her successor, James of Scotland. 
This WJH a point which had long been insisted upon by 
Cecil, who was emboldened, by tiie absence of all compe- 
tition in the Queen's favor, to tell her that " too many 
years had been already lapsed, and the people's quiet 
hazarded by her delay in not fixing upon one certain suc- 
cessor.*" Thus urged on all hands, the Queen, in her 
last moments, declared, "that her throne had been the 
throne of kings, and that her kinsman the king of Scots 
should succeed her.f" 

Her thoughts were then wholly fixed in prayer, and her 
last words declared that her mind " was wholly fixed on 
God, nor did it wander from him." Immediately after her 
death, the neighborhood of the metropolis was almost de- 
serted by the higher classes ; the great families of the north 
hastened to their country-seats to proffer their hospiUility 
to the king on liis journey ; whilst those who had not the 
means of showing him in this manner their loyalty and de- 
votion, repaired to York, there to await the arrival of James 
the First of England. 

•Osborne's Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth. Sec liin Worits, 1683; p 

yje. 

t Camden, p. 385 



130 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Accession of Jninos. — Inti'ii;!!)^^ nKiiiiist Ralegh. — Mediation of tlio Earl 
of Northumberland. — Charncter of Cecil : — Of James. — His lirst Inter- 
view with Rulefih. — Canses of KaleKirs disgrace. — Act.s of oppression 
on the part of James. — Memorial addressed by Kalegh to the King. — 
Reason assigned by James for his dislike to Ralegh. — State of foreign 
atniirs. — Particulars of the Conspiracy, commonly called " Ralegh's 
Plot." — Arabella Stnart — Brook — Cobham — tJrey. — Examinations of 
Cobham and Kalcgh :— Their committal to the Tower.— Rali^gh's at- 
tempt at suicide :— His trial. — Character of Coke. — TlieTriol and Fato 
of the otiier Conspirators.— Observations ui>on the degree of blunie to 
be attached to Ralegh. 

Sir Rooer Aston, nmny years the inesscnfjcr between 
Rliznbetli and James tlie Si.xtli of Scotland, on coming to 
liOndon to desire tliat all things should be made ready for 
tlie reception of James, after his accession to the tlirone 
of England, addressed the Council in tliesc words: — 
"Even, my Lords, like a poor man wandering forty years 
in a wild(M"nes8 and barren soil, am I now arrivccFat the 
liuul of promise." Such were the ])revailing sentiments 
of the Scots; but, with respect to Kalegh, the case was 
essentially diiierent, and sudden was the vicissitude which 
befell him on the accession of Janu^s to the throne. Busy 
machinations had been lor some time at work previous to 
the death of Elizabeth. Already had Cecil, in a corre- 
spondence which still remains in witness of his duplicity,* 
justified himself in tlie sight of James tor all past events 
in which he had borne a part. The arts of the minister 
were seconded by the powerful interest of Sir George 
Hume, atlerwards Earl of Dunbar, whose influence over 
James was sufiicient to induce him to jMirdon in Cecil his 
concern in the death of Essex, a crime which he never 
forgave in Ralegh.t 

This endeavor on the part of Cecil to extricate liimsclf 
from blame, by casting imputations upon his former friend 
and associate, was, indeed, controverted by Henry Percy, the 
accomplished Earl of Northumberland, the intimate friend of 
Ralegh, and brother to Sir Charles Percy, who was among 
tiioso who were fortunate enough to bear the first news of 

* In the llatneld collection. 

t Wcldon's Court and Cliaructer of James I,, p. 10, 11. 



LIFK OF SIR WAr.TEU UAI,F.(!H. 131 

Elizahoth's death to .Tainos.* Uiiliai)pily, llio improysions on 
the Ki)i<i^'s iiiiiul wore too iiulelilily lixi'd, lo be oradicnted Ity 
this gfonoroutf mediation. Northumberland, witli a boldness 
unusual in those days, and with a disj)lay of ability which 
would have done Jiim honor at any time, attem])te(i to cor- 
rect in James the false notion that Essex had b(>on the tirm 
and uniform partisan of the yci)ttish succession, and that 
the enemies of Essex had been opposed to that natural, 
and evidently unalterable, arranoenient. After showino- 
that Essex had " worn the crown of En^rland in his lunirt 
for many years," and was, therefore, little disposed to place 
it on the head of James, the Earl proceeded to discuss the 
loyalty of Ralejjh, and of Cobiuim, under whose names 
were comprehended a numerous party. Witlv reijard to 
Cobham, he declared his inability to express an opinion ; 
and he discarded the subject of that nobleman's intentions 
as comparatively unimjx)rtjint, or as interwoven with tho.se 
of Ralej]^h, by whom Cobham was g^enerally supposed to be 
wholly yuidcd in all his concerns. Of the latter, he sjwke, 
however, with a degree of confidence, not rendered suspi- 
cious by any vehement panegyric, and established by an 
acquaintance of sixteen years. " I must needs ailirm," 
said this manly supiwrter of the calumniated and oppress(;d, 
"Ralegh's late allowance of your right; and although I 
know iiim insolent, extremely heated, and a man that de- 
sires to seem to be able to sway all men's timcies, all men's 
courses, and a man that out of himself, when your time 
shall come, will never be able to do you nuu'h good nor 
harm, yet I nnist needs confess what 1 know, that there is 
excellent good parts of nature in him ; a man whose love 
is disadvantageous to mc in some sort, which I cherish 
rather out of constancy than policy, and one whom I wisii 
your Majesty not to lose, because I would not that one 
hair of a man's head should be against you, tliat might bo 
for you.-|-" 

But the generous advocate of Ralegh was, even at this 
very time, himself endangered by the arts of Cecil, on 
whose friendship he placed a fallacious reliance, the good 
offices of the secretary not being extended to save him 
from fifteen years of impriBoninent in the Tower, and a 

* Birch's Memoirs of P. Ilonry. Ed. 1T50. p. 25. 

t Miss Aikin's Memoirs uf James I., vol. i. p. .'i8., Horn the Hatfield 
Collection ; and Wilson's I<ife of King .Inmes, p. 7'.'0. 



132 UFK or SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

fine of 30,000/., upon a slight suspicion of being concernod 
in the gunpowder plot,* At the accession of James, the 
Earl was viewed by Cecil as fiivoring Ralegh, and was 
consequently the subject of tlie minister's base and hidden 
arts to iiyurc liini in tJie estimation of the King, and to 
effect his ruin. 

The character of Cecil appeared, on a cursory view, but 
indifferently calculated to insure tlic favor of the new 
king ; and every ungenerous method which artifice could 
supply was tliercfore considered doubly essential, in order 
to retaiii tJie situations in the state which the secretary 
now held. In estimating the chances which a candidate 
for royal approval might possess, it was necessary in tins 
reign to place the advantages of person first, troni the im- 
portance assigned to them by James. The childish jmr- 
Liality which this monarch atler wards bestowed upon Car 
and on Villars, could never theretbre be lavished upon 
Cecil, who was not only inferior to those noblemen in ex- 
ternal attractions, but below the common standard of per- 
sonal favor, being deformed, though of a pleasing counte- 
nance. But Cecil, although called by one of his contem- 
poraries " Robert tlie Devil," was described by another as 
" carrying on his little crooked body a head-piece of much 
content," possessing a quick and lively eye, a placid coun- 
tenjuice, and, what was still better, displaying in his 
familiar conversation tliose charms of manner and deport- 
ment which bespeak a character apparently sincere and 
open, mild and yet decided. He had the gift of oratory ; 
and though esteemed by Ralegh an indiflerent writer, his 
letters are easy, animated, njid descriptive. But whilst 
endowed witJi talents which counterbalanced his defects 
of i)erson, tlie opinions of Cecil, both in jwlitics and reli- 
gion, were, on tlie accession of James, opposed to tlie 
favorite notions of tlie sovereign. He had a strong bias 
to the doctrines of tlie Puritans, whom James detested ; and 
Wiis an enemy to tlie Spanish ascendency, which James 
secretly favored, and afterwards openly countenanced. 
But tlio able mitiister well knew how to keep these obnox- 
ious principles of action in apparent sulwrdination, whilst 
lie lecomniended himself to the confidence of James by 
the most submissive demeanor, by his alacrity in jiroolaim- 

* Pamdcn's .Annnls of Jaiiips, \\ Mi. 



LIFE Of fiUi WAI.'IT.U KALEGII. l.'J3 

ing the Kinjj's title ininiediately upon the deatli of Eliza- 
beth, and still more, as tiieir intercourse proceeded, by hiy 
address in discoverinsj jjlots, of which the kingf sent him 
what he considered as the first surmise and intelligence. 
On this accoimt tiic kinj^ honored him with the name of 
"Little Ueagle;*" an appellation far more precious, in the 
opinion of James, than that of warrior or conqueror.f An 
assiduous man of business, Cecil had little time or inclina- 
tion for those literary attainments, which, however James 
miffht extol, he could not view in Ralegh without a dread 
of being surpassed. In his offices of state, Cecil merited 
however the regard of -his master by a faithful and diligent 
service ; and was, as a contemporary writer expresses it, 
" as good a minister as James would let him be ;" securing 
at tiie same time his own interests. Thus, whilst the 
Scots who accompanied James to England were said to 
have had the " shell" of all public honors and emolu- 
ments, Cecil is supposed to have retained tlie " kernel" to 
himself. 

It is difficult to enter into the motives which actuated this 
wary and disingenuous courtier in his immediate desertion 
of Ilalegh, and in his intrigues to effect the ruin of his for- 
mer friend. Cecil had, on a former occasion, excused Ra- 
legh to Elizabeth in terms creditable to his own candor and 
discrimination.!: Yet it appears that the whole machinery 
of court cabals and artifice was sot into play immediately 
after the death of the Queen, and that tlic favorable recep- 
tion of Cecil with the King, and the disgrace of Ralegh, 
were almost coeval. The effect of tiiese operations was 
not at first perceived by their unfortunate object: ho was 
received, and for some weeks treated graciously by the 
King, whom he met at Theobald's. Within this princely 
mansion, the residence of Cecil, tiie oflicers of state and the 
privy council had also been awaiting, with impatient curi- 
osity, to behold the Monarch in whose favor the hopes o\' 
the ambitious were now centeredj ; and here, so magnifi- 
cent an entertainment was prei)ared for the new sovereign, 

♦Grainger's Biog. — .Art. Cecil. 

t Sec Sir VVitliaiii Coke's ,\pology, in rollcctanea Curiosa, by Cntrli. 

t See Appendix C. Leltor lrnnciiiiil(i-<l from the Stale Paixsr OlfH-c, in 
which Cecil's good wishes towards Ralegh at that time were obviously 
expressed. 

§ Oldys, p. 149. 

M 



134 UFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

tliat Lord Bacon declares that to attempt to describe it 
were to imitate " geographers, that set a little round O for 
a mighty province.*" To the sploiidor of the scene, James 
added the joys wliich a lavish extension of honors and 
privileges is supposed to impart. He made, indeed, shortly 
after his accession, no fewer tlian twenty-eight knights ; so 
that a contemporary writer sarcastically observes, "crea- 
tions brake in upon us like a deluge ; knights swarmed in 
every corner ; the sword ranged about ; men bowed in obe- 
dience to it, more in peace than in war.f" In the midst of 
this overflowing prosperity to others, Ralegh perhaps per- 
ceived, with some anxiety, the slight probability of even 
moderate success as a courtier, which appeared to await 
him with the singular monarch whom he now for the first 
time beheld. 

The qualities which Sir Walter Ralegh had evinced, 
were calculated to insure the approbation of an enlightened 
monarch like Elizabeth, conscious of her own power, con- 
fident of llie affections of her people, and possessed of ad- 
dress and discrimination, which enabled her to employ with 
advantage in her subjects that busy ambition, and those ac- 
tive talents whicli might, under a feebler government, be- 
come derogatory, and even dangerous to the royal dignity. 
But James, who has been wittily said to " have been the 
wisest fool in Christendom,^" saw, in the splendid military 
talents of Ralegh, nothing but a feiti-ful source of disturb- 
ance to tliat peaceful tenor of life, for the inclination to 
which this king has been unduly satirized ; whilst in the 
acknowledged fame of Ralegh's genius, he dreaded an 
eclipse of that reputation for learning which the monarch 
had endeavored to send before him, and which he desired 
to sliine unrivalled in the English Court, and out of an im- 
pertinent emulation, according to Osborne, " was thougjit 
to affect Sir Walter Ralegh the less because of the great 
repute which followed liiin for his excellent pcn.J" 

A single interview was almost decisive of Ralegh's fate. 
Unluckily for the amusement of succeeding generations, 
there remains no memorial of the impression which the ap- 
pearance and behavior of the Scottish monarcli conveyed 
to the acute mind of tiie accomplished courtier to whom 

* Bacon's Letters. f Wilson's Life of James I. p. 664. 

I WeUion, p. 173. § Osborne, p. 431. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 135 

James, for the first time, stood revealed in all his native pe- 
culiarity. His sentiments on the occasion may be easily con- 
jectured. A strange contrast was indeed presented to the 
majestic and fearless Elizabeth, in her timid, undignified, 
and ill-favored successor. In his mode of speech, a circum- 
stance which perhaps even more than personal appearance 
first engages the attention of an observer, James retained 
in its fullest and harshest tones that northern dialect, in 
the practice of which he had been nurtured ; and to tliis 
characteristic was added a difficulty of utterance which 
rendered those uncourtly accents still more displeasing 
from the natural defect of the tongue being too large for 
the mouth. In the management of this really unruly mem- 
ber, he possessed but little discretion ; and, contrary to tlie 
habits of most men in important stations, was, as Lord Bacon 
describes him, " in speech of business short, in speech of 
discourse large." The same author sums up the general 
deportment of James, when he declares him to be a prince, 
" the furthest fi-om vain-glory that may be ;" for contrary 
to the custom of the monarchs of the Tudor line, this King, 
although estimating the adornments of dress to an absurd 
extent in others, in his own person despised or rather dread- 
ed the expenditure of costly attire, retained the same 
fashions, and wore his clothes even to rags.* 

Thus his natural or liabitual awkwardness, a circular 
walk, and a custom or necessity of supporting himself upon 
the (shoulders of others, appeared in undisguised ungainli- 
ness to the amused and critical courtiers, who, if we may 
judge by the accounts of contemporary writers, were not 
unsparing of their remarks. But that which most offended 
the politeness of the proud nobility, was a practice in which 
the king indulged of rolling his large eyes after every 
stranger, so that many persons could not withstand the im- 
pulse of shame and indignation, and left his presence ab- 
ruptly, and in a state of irritation.f 

Such was the exterior of King James the First, and an 
intimate acquaintance with the dispositions of this monarch 

* Whon presented by Boine person with roses for his shoes, ho asked if 
they meant to make him a rufTfootcd dove ? One yard of sixjjenny riband 
perved that turn. VVeldon, p. 106. 

f It is said by that historical gossip, Aubrey, that James's first address 
to Ralnyh was couched in these elegant terms, " On my soul, mon, I have 
heard Rawly of Ihec." See O.xford ed of Kalegli's Works, I p. 740. 



136 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

confirmed the notion of eccentricity which }iis appearance 
denoted. His character was a continuity of contradictions ; 
and to his bad government, and erroneous principles of ac- 
tion, may be referred many of the evils which ensued in 
the reign of his son.* Unable, from natural candor, to fal- 
sify or even to disguise his sentiments in common discourse, 
James could break the faith he had pledged to his parlia- 
ments almost without a pang ; and whilst he showed the 
deepest contrition, remembering, even with tears, his oc- 
casional lapses into intoxication at Buckingham's jovial 
suppers,t could sacrifice the life of an eminent subject 
almost without a shadow of reluctance. Assuming to him- 
self the character of Rex Pacificus, but inclined to peace 
more from fear than for conscience' sake, James appears to 
deserve little credit for cherishing the comforts, and pro- 
tecting the safety of his subjects, if his patronage of the 
murderer of Overbury be considered ; and lightly are the 
mercies of a monarch to be prized, when'his delight in dis- 
covering plots and treasons was almost proverbial ; ■ so that 
on the blood being drawn from his finger by tlie carver at 
dinner, he was ironically said to have cried out treason, and 
his word in that respect was thought to be no slander.]; 
Thus agitated perpetually by frivolous concerns, and often 
groundless fears, and regardless of the great interests and 
of the real dangers of his country, the mind of James is 
justly described to have been a " magazine for trifles," in 
which there was little space for the deposit of graver»and 
more valuable materials ; and, in the total absence of that 
quick perception of propriety which experience in the ways 
of mankind camiot always teach, and " which thirty-five 
years of what he called king's craft had not taught him,5" 
the childish points of this monarch's cliaracter were con- 
tinually allowed to escape from behind the veil with which 
ceremony and royal dignity are calculated to conceal the 
peculiarities of native character. 

Addicted to changing his ministers, and fond of tlie little 
intrigues incident to such occasions, James was now dis- 
posed to remain firm to Cecil from the advice which that 
eminent person gave to make peace with Spain. || The 
same reasons actuated him also to pursue a very different 

* Osborne, p. 47?. \ Welilon, p. IG7. t Oldys, p. 148. 

§ AiUin. II Lrrtjte'P Illiistralioii^ vol. iii, p. 181. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 137 

course with Ralegh, who had lately written a memorial in 
order to point out tJie disadvantages of a treaty with that 
country.* It was, in sliort, scarcely possible for any cir- 
cumstances to be combined under an aspect more unpropi- 
tious to Ralegh, than those in which James ascended the 
throne. Surrounded by Scotsmen, whom he soon found 
reason to designate " locusts," James displayed so glaring 
and gross a partiality to the interests of the country which 
he had left, that he began to be considered as no better than 
a " king-in-lawf " to his new possessions on the southern 
side of the Tweed. Hence the fame of Ralegh's exploits, 
the hope of his future services, the honor resulting to this 
country from the spirit of enterprise which he had pro- 
moted, all availed but little in the sight of a prince who 
regarded these meritorious traits with the cold indifference 
of a stranger. But had the King been more alive to the 
rare qualities of Ralegh's character, or more sensible of 
the benefits of his example, one circumstance alone would 
have obliterated the result of all these considerations. 
This was the suggestion made by Ralegh, in conjunction 
with the Lord Cobham, Sir John Fortescue, and others, that 
James should, before his coronation,-be obliged to subscribe 
to certain articles, and that the number of his coimtrymen 
in situations here should be restrained within due bounds.| 
Regardless, or unconscious of the state of the King's 
private sentiments, and of the fact that all the other cour- 
tiers had been silenced on the same subject, either by a 
knowledge of the avowed wishes of the King, or by the 
potency of Spanish gold, Ralegh, at his first audience with 
a monarch, who wore his doublets quilted for fear, and, 
when he dubbed a knight, averted his head from the 
weapon which denoted the honor, addressed to him a coun- 
sel which might have shaken a far more courageous spirit 
than that of James. " I offered his Majesty," says he, in 
the work entitled his Remains, " at my uncle Carew's, to 
carry two thousand men to invade the Spanish without the 
King's charge.f" This rash, but manly and disinterested 
offer, at once consigned the whole ascendency in royal fa- 
vor to Cecil, and to the Spanish party. The presents re- 
ceived from Ralegh in Scotland, were, indeed, acknow- 

• Birch, vol. i. p. 48. t Osborne's Trad. Mem. p. 472. 

t Oldvs, p. 148. § Remains, 12mo. 1720. 

M2 



138 l.IFK OF SIR WALTKR UALF.«H. 

ledcfed by tlie Kincf ; but that act of grace was tlie last 
over ucconlod to liiin, aiu) Cecil, who well knew that force 
alone could oblioc Kalcfrh to succumb to his greater in- 
tluence, triumplied undisturbed and secure. The source 
of Cecil's apprehensions, the object of James's dislike, a«d 
the victim of the Spauisli faction, a pretext was now only 
wanting to complete tlie ruin for which machinations were 
already in progress. 

An act of oppression, such as would, in the present day, 
make tlie country ring witli clamor, soon intimated to Ra- 
legh tlie perilous situation in wliicli lie stixxl. One source 
of James's jealousy of Ralegh originated in his guardian- 
ship of a female descendant of the PhuitJigeiiets, on heiress 
named Basset, who was tiiought by some persons to have 
a claim to the crown of England, luid who liad the more 
substantial possession of an estate worth three thousand a 
year.* This young person was betrothed to Walter Ra- 
legh, the eldest son of Sir Walter, a brave young man, 
who was afterwards killed in the expedition to Guiana. 
JNotwithstaiidiug this contract, James, of whom it has been 
falsely sjiid that he never committed but one act of tyranny, 
severed the athanced lady trom the family among whom 
she had been fostered, and obliged her to marry Henry 
Howard, who afterwards died. She tlien became the wife 
of the Earl of Newcastle; and this nobleman entertained 
so strong a sense of the injustice of licr separation trom 
Walter Ralegh, that he was heard to say, that had that 
unfortunate young man been alive, lie would not have mar- 
ried his countess, for "he took her, before God, to be young 
Ralegh's wife, whilst they were yet children." Nor did this 
unjust proceeduig end here : Sir Robert Basset, a relative 
of the heiress, was obliged to tly the country to save his 
life, probably for some op^xisition to this transaction : his 
estate was much reduced, no fewer than thirty manors 
being sold by the King's orders.t 

Fresh insults convinced the unfortunate Ralegh that his 
affairs at court were desperate. Whilst forbidden himself 
to enter the royal presence, he had the mortification of 
hearing that tJie Earl of Soutluunpton, who was concerned 
in the conspiracy of Essex, and " long covered with the 

* Oliiys, 140. 

t Obseivntions on SandtTson's History of Mary Uaeen of Scots and 
her son .Inines the SixUi, -Ito. UWfi. p. V.' 



LIFE OF SIR WALTKB RALEGH. 139 

ashes of his ruin,"* had been sent for from tlie Tower, and 
jrraciously received. Irritated by tJiesc events, and inca- 
pable of sustiiininjjf with temper tlie reverses presented to 
iiim, llalcfi^h, enrajfed a<i[ainst Cecil and his party, gave, by 
his rash conduct, a full elfcct to the snares prepared for 
him by his enemies. Had he, with more subtlety or with 
more prudence, bent beneath the storm, or awaited its sub- 
sidinjj in seclusion and submission, his liberty might have 
been spared to him, and, perhaps, his fortunes retrieved. 
lie adopted, however, a different course, and employing 
his powerful talents in composing a justification of his con- 
duct, addressed to King James a memorial, in which he 
sought to vindicate himself from the death ol" I'lssox, and 
to throw the blame of that afliiir upon Cecil. Not contented 
with this defence, lie attacked the minister u})on the score 
of Queen Mary's execution, which he attributed wholly to 
the enmity of the Cecils, and not to the wishes of Eliza- 
beth; concluding tiiis dociunent by an appeal to Davison, 
the secretary, who was still alive, and in prison.f He was 
removed Irom his situation as captain of the guard, and 
that office conferred upon Sir Thomas Erskine, one of the 
King's countrymen and favorites. He was apprized that 
James disliked his continuance in his office of wines ; and 
he found that his services at court wore regarded as un- 
welcome and intrusive.| No impression upon the mind of 
James was elFected by his reprcscntiitions against Cecil, 
and the minister was rendered implacable. That the con- 
duct of the King towards Ralegh was actuated by some 
fatal influence rather than by the impulse of his own un- 
biassed feelings, is, however, obvious; for when asked. 
What fault he found in Ralegh .' the embarrassed royal 
pedagogue could only rc])ly, that he had spoken irrever- 
ently of Henry VHI. ; a rca.son which, if available as an 
excuse, must have been called up at the moment, since no 
one had declaimed in harsher terms against that monanih 
than James himself ^ 'I'he fact is, that James, although 
secretly afraid of Ralegh, and disliking his opinions, left 
this and all other points of policy to the sole guidance of 

* Wilson. 0-12. 

t Thfi only share which Ralegh had in the condemnation of Mary, waB 
Ills serving in the parliament wliirh met before that event. — Camden. 
t f)ldyg, 151 § Osborne, edit. I(i82. p. 431. 



140 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

those ministers who had served under his able and expe- 
rienced predecessor ; and " dedicated," as Osborne relates, 
" rainy weather to his standish, and fair to his hounds, or 
any thing else that owned the voice of pleasure, which 
was through the whole series of his government more ac- 
ceptable than any profit or conveniency [that] might ac- 
crue to his people.*" So great, indeed, was the ascen- 
dency which Cecil retained over him, that he was gene- 
rally thought to have made a private compact with Hume, 
Earl of Dunbar, and afterwards Chancellor of the Exche- 
quer, to divide the favor of the King between themf ; thus 
cementing interests which, if divided, might have been 
comparatively powerless. 

This brief detail of the various circumstances which at- 
tended the accession of James, is necessary to show how 
far domestic affairs affected the welfare and security of Ra- 
legh's existence ; the situation of England with respect to 
foreign states had also a considerable influence upon the 
destiny of this great but unfortunate individual. 

James was at this time solicited with proposals of peace 
by all the principal potentates of Europe. Among the dif- 
ferent ambassadors who visited this country, none, however, 
seemed so likely to secure the confidence of the public 
mind, as Rosni, afterwards Due de Sully. This celebrated 
friend and minister of Henry IV. came to England ex- 
pressly to frustrate a scheme for a general peace, at that 
time diligently sought by Count D'Aremberg, the Austrian 
ambassador. On his arrival in England, the French am- 
bassador ■found James but little disposed to favor the propo- 
sals of Henry IV. for the continuance of the amity which 
had subsisted between the King of France and Elizabeth. 
All grateful recollections of that princess, every respectful 
tribute to her memory, were almost prohibited in the court 
of her successor; and when Rosni intimated to some of the 
English, that it was his intention to appear before James 
with himself and his whole suite in mourning, he was 
earnestly admonished not, by such a form, which had been 
strictly enjoined him by Henry, to incur James's certain 
displeasure.! 

The divisions of the English court, the weakness of its 

* Hume. t Lodge's Illustrations, iii. 181. 

I Sully's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 145. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 141 

ruler, the overwhelming influence of the Scots, and the 
deep duplicity of Cecil, whom he describes as "all myste- 
ry," were soon apparent to the discernment and experience 
of Sully, already intimately acquainted with the character 
of the English nation. Suspicion, jealousy, private and 
even public discontents, pervaded the higher classes of the 
community, and divided the responsible advisers of the 
King into factions. Below tl>e principal parties was a 
subordinate cabal, composed of those who mingled in af- 
fairs without having any connexion, with the members of 
the government, and who were scarcely united among 
themselves, nor according in any one point, except in the 
resolution not to join with any other faction. These were 
composed entirely of Englishmen ; they breathed a spirit 
of sedition,* and were ready, according to the opinion of 
Sully, " to attempt any thing in favor of novelties, even if 
it were against the king himself f" At the head of this 
combination were the earls of Northumberland, Southamp- 
ton, and Cumberland, the Lord Cobham, Sir Walter Ra- 
legh, Sir Griffin Markham, and many others.J It may be 
readily conceived how the contending interests of these 
two parties, the vacillations of James, and the skilful ma- 
noeuvres of Cecil, who veered about with each prevailing 
faction, afforded but too seductive an occasion for the de- 
signing, the discontented, or the rash, to form schemes for 
the destruction of a government, of which even the earli- 
est prognostications were those of error and of weakness. 

In this state of affairs, various circumstances contributed 
to make the scale of James's inclinations preponderate in 
favor of the Spanish interests, and consequently against 
the object of Rosni's mission. He bore, in the first place, 
no great affection towards Henry the Fourth, who had 
called him in derision, " Captain of arts, and Clerk of 
arms," a too apt designation, of which James had been ma- 
liciously apprized. 5 He was indolent to excess, and was 
but too happy to resign the burden of thuiking about state 
matters to Cecil, who had now so far relaxed from his an- 
tipathy to Spain, as to consider tliat kingdom and France 
as both equally dangerous; above all, the King was in- 
timidated, rather than influenced, by his queen, Anne df 
Denmark, over whom he sought vainly to assume an au- 

♦ Sully, \2y t li'i'i 



142 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

thority wliich had tlie mere semblartce of conjugal com- 
mand, and which tJiat bold, assuming;, and popular princess 
set at deliance witli an undaunted assurance. Anne was 
wholly devoted to the Spanish alliance, and she had sedu- 
lously endeavored to inspire the young prince Henry, the 
heir-apparent, with similar sentunents ; but tliat well-judg- 
ing and single-hearted youth could never be brought to 
coincide with his mother in her opinions on this subject, 
and was tlie more reluctant to join in her schemes from 
his enthusiastic admiration for tlie King of France, whom 
he proposed to make his model.* These prepossessions on 
the part of the youtliful heir-apparent, inclined liim after- 
wards to listen to tlie suggestions of Ralegh, and were, 
probably, tlie first bond of that union which subsequently 
subsisted between these two individuals. 

Rosni, on establishing himself in London, found there, 
as ambassadors, tlie Count D'Aremberg, from the Arch- 
duke of Austria, Prince Henry of Nassau, and other depu- 
ties from tlie States General. These ambassadors were 
soon plunged into tlie mysterious and perplexing business 
of negotiations, in which the irresolution and indifference 
of James w^ere, according to the representations of the am- 
bassador, only exceeded by his dissimulation. His great 
wit consisted in inspiring all who had audience of him 
witii hopes, but fultilluig none of his promises ; a line of 
conduct which had, as he affirmed, procured him security 
when king of Scotland.f It has been well remarked, tliat 
the attention of this monarch had been too long centered 
in the anxieties for self-preservation to leave much matter 
within him for generous exertion.| 

All tliese conflicting circumstances were of vital, and, 
as they proved, of fatal importance to Ralegh. Those who 
admired his talents, and wished well to one who. w^as so 
calculated to advance tlie credit of his countiy, viewed 
with regret the dangers by which he was tlireatened at 
this crisis. Even Sir Joiin liarrington, now no longer the 
liglit-hearted and sjiortivc courtier, but the mournful ob- 
server of tliis world's mconstancy,} began to fear for Ra- 
legh, and to whisper strange plots of whicli iie had private 
intunations. By this strange componnd of sentiment and 

* Sully, 135. t Ibid. p. 143. 

4 Aikin's James I. vol. i. p. 59. § Nugtr, 181. 343, 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 143 

Immor, it was plainly seen, and jrood-natiiredly lamented, 
that llttlegh was obnoxious to all tactions. " The Span- 
ishe," says he, in a letter to Dr. Still, " beare no good wyll 
to Ralejifh; and I doubt if some of the Enoflyshc have 
mucJie better aflectione towarde hyni : God dely ver me 
from these desyjo^ns. I have spoken with Carewe concern- 
injre the matter; he thynketh ill of certaine people whome 
I knowe, and wisheth he coud jjaine luiowicdge and fur- 
tlier inspection hereof. Cecil doth beare no love to Ra- 
lejjhe, as you well understande in the matter of Essex. 1 
wist not he that (Ralesfh) hath evyll design in pointc of 
faithe or relygion. As he hath ofte discoursede to me vvyth 
moch learnynge, wysdom, and freedom, I knowe he dotho 
somewhat dyffer in opynyon from some others: but I 
thinke also his hearte is welle fixed in every honcste 
tliynge, as farre as I can looke into liym. lie seemeth 
wondrouslie fitted, bothe by art and nature, to serve the 
state, especiallio as he is versede in foreign matters, his 
skyll therein being alwaies estimable and praiseworthie." 
* * * " In good trothe, I pitie his state, and doubte the 
dyce not fairely thrown, if his lyfe be the losing stake : but 
liereof enowe, as it becomethc not a poore countrye 
knyghte to look from the plow-handle into policie and 
privacie.*" Such were some of the forebodings of a spec- 
tator concerning the termination of Ralegh's tranquillity, 
and the perils which tlireatened his reputation : and such 
the tribute of well-grounded encomium paid to him by one 
who knew well how to satirize his failings; and whose 
present favor with King James might liave made that ap- 
pear, for his own i)eculiar interests, the wiser part. 

It was at this juncture that a combination was formed, 
so singular in its nature, and so mysterious in its intention, 
that its operations have proverbially been called a " riddle 
of state." Among tlie active, and enthusiastic, and malig- 
nant spirits who were thus mingled together in strange 
association, the name of Ralegh, unhappily for him, aj)- 
pcars. The imputed object of the plot in which he was 
supposed to have engaged, was to alter the succession to 
the crown ; the means, a rash and wild scheme for sur- 
prising the king and his court, and placing the next heir 
upon the throne. The object, or rather the victim, of this 



144 LIFE Ol' BIR WALTER HALEGir. 

conspiracy, was Arabella Stuart, one of the most liapleas 
members of a family sufficiently remarkable for niisfor- 
times, and distinguished no less for the pride, imprudence, 
and accomplishments which characterized the house of 
Stuart, tlian for her exalted birth. The daughter of the 
Earl of Lenox, uncle to the king, and brother of the ill- 
fated ])arnley, the Lady Arabella possessed, according to 
the opinion of some, an advantage, by birth within the 
realm, which raised her claim to the crown to an equality 
with that of James, " according to the principle of law 
which excludes aliens from inheritance*" to the crown. 
Her pretensions were countenanced by the pope, Clement 
VIII., who believed her to be secretly of the Catholic faith, 
and projected a marriage between her and the Cardinal 
Farnese, brother to the Duke of Paruia.t But Arabella 
manifested neither any decided inclination to popery, nor a 
disposition, by an alliance with foreign states, to strengthen 
her power of laying claim to her supposed birthright. Her 
chief grounds of complaint aj)pear to have been the loss 
of her patrimonial property, when James, after the death 
of her father, revoked the infcoffinent of the Earldom of 
T^enox to lier prejudice, an act which had incensed Queen 
Elizabeth.| She was, therefore, in a great measure, de- 
pendent upon James's bounty, and was obliged from pover- 
ty to contract debts, which the king in one instance paid, 
besides adding to her yearly allowance.^ As this act of 
liberality took place after the conspiracyll which bore her 
name as its plea, it may be presumed, as indeed it was 
generally allowed, that Arabella was innocent of any par- 
ticipation in that wild and wicked scheme. That she was 
destined to fall a sacrifice to the suspicions raised by tliis 
affair, was t(X) well proved ; when, following the dictates 
of her heart, she, some years afterwards, married her 
cousin. Sir William Seymour, and endeavored to fly with 
him abroad. He, a man of honor and of valor, who after- 
wards proved his attachment to the reigning family during 
the period of the rcbellion,11 was, for a time, confined in 
the Tower. But the misery of their common imprudence 

* Hnllam's Constitutional Hist, of England, i. p. 390. 

t Hallani, 391. 

t Camden, p. Aft]., also Ellis's Letters, 2d Series, vol. iii. pp. Gl— G-l. 

§ Winvvood's Memorials, iii. p. 117. 

U Ibid. ' IT Clarendon. 



LIFE OF SIK VVAi;j'liU IIALEOH. 14.5 

fell, as it usually docs, most heavily on the lady. After 
years of conlineinent iiud of iiope of liberty deferred, she 
died insane, and a prisoner.'" 

With the expressed purpose of vindicating' the rights 
of Arabella, but witli tlie secret expectation each of bene- 
fiting Ills own particular views, a set of men came into 
co-operation with such dissimilar opinions and motives, that 
jK)sterity has scarcely ceased wondering at their conjunc- 
tion. Aniong-st tliese, the most resjwnsible for all the evils 
wliicli ensued was (ieorge lirookc, a brother of the J^ord 
Cobhiuii, and, doul)1 loss, tiie incendiary of the whole ])lot. 
Whilst, from the gniatcr iini)ortanco of his relative in ranic 
and wealth, this base instrument of destruction to Ralegh 
has been overlooked by Jiistorians, there can be little doubt 
but that by his cultivated, and vigorous, but unprincipled 
mind, the passions of Cobliam were inflamed ; and the lat- 
ter, who " was but one remove from a fool,f" initiated into 
the mysteries of the web woven by others. It is remark- 
able that the father of these two men had given them a 
lesson in treachery, by disclosing the particulars of the 
consi)iracy in which the Duke of Norfolk was concerned, 
in the reign of lOlizaljeth. This nobleman afterwards be- 
came lord chamberlain, and enjoyed so great a portion of 
Elizabeth's favor, that none dared to utter a syllable to his 
prejudice, unless it v/ere the l']arl of Essex ; and when the 
office of baron of the cinque ports became vacnnt, the 
chance of the younger Cobham appeared to prevail above 
that of all other competitors.]: Witli the advantages of 
high birth and of a large fortune, Ilenry liord Coiiiiain 
was as much despised by his contemporaries, even in. his 
days of prosperity, as he has since been contemned and 
detested by every reader of history, capable of feeling vir- 
tuous indignation. To his natural imbecility there was an 
accompaniment not very unusual, a degree of stupid and 
remorseless assurance, which enabled him to tell a lie with 
as much ease and confidence as a fact:^ hence he was 
generally conceived to be one upon whom any base office 
might be thrust, witiiout the dread of any relenting emo- 
tions of conscience intervening to arrest the progress of 
his iniquities. If one odious and contemptible feature 

♦Winwood. f Weldoii. 

t Brydgc's Extinct Peerage, 261. from Rowland White. § Weldon. 

N 



146 LIFE OF &m WALTER RALEfill. 

predominated in his composition, it was cowardice, a cir- 
cumstance of which his designing associates knew well 
how to avail themselves when occasion offered. It was 
remarkable that a person so valiant, so philosophical, and 
so discerning as Ralegh should have associated on temis 
of intimacy with a character so iniworthy of his regard, 
and so debased in the public opinion, ns that of Cobham ; 
for even during the lifetime of Essex, Cobham had been 
despised, and it was the custom of the unfortunate Deve- 
reux to call him, par excellentiam, " the sycophant," in 
tlie very presence of Elizabeth.* Perhaps their common 
enmity to that unfortunate nobleman first engaged Ralegh 
and Cobham in a friendship which was as fatal to the for- 
mer, as it was hollow and selfish in the latter. Perhaps the 
influence and credit attached to the dominion which Ra- 
legh exercised over a man of Cobham's great possessions, 
gratified his vanity, or increased his power. It is scarcely 
possible that the intimacy which subsisted between them 
could have arisen in Ralegh from motives of regard or 
esteem to a man so infinitely his inferior in every thing 
but the adventitious circumstances of birth and fortune : 
yet the familiar letters which passed between themf seem 
to imply a degree of flattering attention on the part of 
Ralegh, which, if it did not proceed from kindly feelings, 
was utterly unworthy of a man of his intellect and estima- 
tion in society. Yet it is but too true that their intercourse, 
both personally and' by correspondence, was of the most 
familiar and confidential character; and of the letters pre- 
served of Ralegh's writing, in the State Paper Office, 
those to Cobham are written in the terms of intimate 
friendship and respect. When quitting the examination- 
room, and returning as a prisoner to his own house, Ra- 
legh received a message fi-om Cobham requesting to know 
what had transpired. To this inquiry Ralegh sent a writ- 
ten answer, telling Cobham, that he had been examined, 
and that " he had cleared him of all." This intelligence 
was transmitted by Captain Keymis, one of Ralegh's de- 
voted adherents, who, as it was stated, added a verbal mes- 
sage, which was denied by Ralegh, importing that " Cob- 

• Reliquiae WottoniiB, 31. 

t Copied from the State Paper Ofllcc, App. D. Si E. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 147 

mm might be of good comfort, for that one witness would 
aot condemn liim." 

Contrasted with Cobiiam in every mental attribute, but 
unhappily associated witli iiim in deeds of folly and of 
mischief, was the young, high-minded Lord Grey dc Wil- 
ton, described by a contcmiK.>rary writer* as " a very hope- 
ful gentleman, blasted in the bud." This unfortunate 
nobleman, the last male heir of a brave and illustrious 
line, and ancestor, by his sister, to the present house of 
Wilton, had been engaged in tlie stirvice of his country 
against tlie Armada, and liad borne an honorable character, 
until his ill-advised connexion with that strange enterprise, 
afterwards vulgarly known by " Ralegh's Plot," and, by 
more accurate persons, " Watson's conspiracy." A Puritan 
in religion. Grey manifested in his dejwrtment the osten- 
tation of piety and contempt of deatli, usually manifested 
by persons of that sect, to whom it appeared in many in- 
stances far more easy to die with heroism, than to live in 
a rational state of peace, and whom King James not inaptly 
described to be "Protestants ilayed out of their wits." 
He was also a man of some classical acquirements, which 
were displayed with considerable ostentation in his letters, 
as some of his affecting and high-spirited compositions still 
preserved sufficiently show.f Witii these differing cha- 
racters were joined William Watson, and William Clerk, 
two priests ; Sir Griffin Markham, Bartholomew Brooksby, 
Anthony Copley, Sir p]dvvard Parham, and, as report as- 
serted. Sir Walter Ralegh. . 

Of this strange medley of characters. Grey was the 
most infatuated and violent ; Cobham the most contempti- 
ble ; and his brother George Brooke, by far the most able, 
designing, and dangerous. So much doubt still rests upon 
the share which Ralegh had in this treasonable combina- 
tion of Papists with Puritans, that he ought not to be re- 
garded as decidedly forming one of this singular group. 
Yet historians have unhesitatingly connected his name 
with those of his reputed confederates, and have seemed 
to consider his guilt as implied, without the necessity of a 
doubt. Even Osborne, with every apparent intention to be 
lenient, states, that at the King's " assumption, the Lord 
Grey, Lord Cobham, and Sir Walter Ralegh," fell into a 

♦ WelilDn Ostein, Trad. Mem. J. 441. t Sec Appendix, F. & G. 



148 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

treason similar to that of Essex, and equally " improbable to 
hurt otliers, or ben€>fit themselves:" and he adds this re- 
mark, — "tliat if ever folly was capable of the title, or 
pity due to innocence, theirs mig-ht claim so large a share, 
as not possible to be too hinhly condemned, or too slijjhtly 
punished.*" By an historian, greatly superior to Osborne,t 
tlie participation of RaJejjh in the criminal desisjns of 
Grey, Cobham, and the other members of the party, has 
been mentioned as a circumstance to be accounted for by 
the manifestations of James's displeasure towards him, 
and as a fact not requiring investigation, nor challeng-ing 
dispute..]: 

Air. Hume has justly observed, regarding this affair, tliat 
" every thing remains still mysterious, and history can give 
us no clue to unravel it." In documents^ discovered long 
since Hume's time, no fresh disclosures, which might es- 
tablish the guilt of Ralegh, are to be found. The minds 
of tJiose who conversed with him appear to have been in 
the same state of vague suspicion and perplexity as our 
own ; no confession was elicited Irom him, nor any con- 
nected evidence of co-operation traced. The origin of the 
charges a^inst him originated in the following circum- 
stances, respecting which reports prevailed, without, how- 
ever, any certain foundation. 

It was in tlie first instance supposed, and it has been 
repeatedly asserted, that Ralegh was guilty in tampering 
with tlie foreign ambassadors, and in oftering them tiie 
benefit of his talents and influence for pecuniary consider- 
ations. Rosni is said first to have received these unworthy 
proposalsll ; but no such statement being found in the val- 
uable and singularly accurate Memoirs of that great states- 
man, it may be presumed that this account was false ; for 
Sully would scarcely have passed over such an occurrence, 
had it really taken place. The sole reference which he 
makes to any communications of importance offered to him 
by Ralegh and Cobham, relates to the machinations of 

♦ Osborne, Mem. K. J. vii. 425. 

t Osborne, as a contemporary writer, has had considerable stress placed 
npon his stntemonts. }lo was born in 1589. and must have been fifteen 
years old at the time of U'utson's conspiracy. His dislike to James and 
to the Stuarts is well known, and it was manifested by the share which 
lie took in the civil wars. 

J Wilson, (i62. § Those in th<^ ?tatc Pfijier Odire. |,i Hume. 



HFK OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 149 

Spain to detach England from France and the Low Coun- 
tries; and, on this subject, the earl of Northumberland, 
wlio was in no way concerned in Watson's plot, gave him 
a far greater portion of information tlian the two former 
individuals.* 

It was next reported, that Ralegh and Cobham were im- 
plicated with Count Aremberg, the ambassador from the 
Archduke of Austria, and that their dealings with him, if 
not absolutely of a treasonable nature, might be regarded 
as disgraceful to themselves, and as dangerous to the 
state. 

In the month of May, 1603, Ralegh had projected, if not 
executed, a work, which he presented soon afterwards to 
James,f written expressly to discourage the prospect of a 
peace with Spain, and urging the conthmance of amity with 
the Flemings, upon the grounds that " a poor neighbor's 
house set on fire is better to be guarded than a great city 
afar off. I" In the course of June, in the same year, the Aus- 
trian ambassador landed in England. Soon after his arrival. 
Lord Cobham, who had formerly maintained some inter- 
course with the Austrian government, by means of Lau- 
rencie, an Antwerp merchant, renewed his previous com- 
munication with that person, who attended D' Aremberg to 
England, and, ui his presence, had a personal interview 
with the Austrian minister. On this occasion Cobham 
was instructed by the Austrian minister to offer a bribe to 
Ralegh, in order to induce him to relinquish that opposi- 
tion to the peace with Spain, which he had continually 
manifested, and whicli he had shown explicitly in his re- 
cent publication. On quitting D' Aremberg, Cobham re- 
paired to Durham House, in the Strand, where Ralegh 
then resided, and communicated to him, during supper, the 
particulars of his visit to D' Aremberg. 

This was not the first proposal of this nature which had 
been made to Ralegh on the part of D'Aremberg, who had 
tried his ground with Sir Walter, by a similar offer before 
his landing in England.^ The result of this particular ne- 
gotiation does not appear, and it was probably anticipated 
by the proceedings against Ralegh : the treaty was after- 
wards stated to have been of a treasonable nature, although 
no different object to that which has been assigned to it 

* Sully's Memoirs, Translation, vol. iii. p. 1U4. London, 1810. 
t Birch, pp. 4P, 49. J Oldys. § Ibid. 151. 

N2 



150 LIFE OF SIR WALTER UALEGH. 

could be ascertained. It may be justly remarked, that it 
argues no great estimation of Ralegh's incorruptible prob- 
ity, that such a proposition should have been made to him. 
Unhappily sucli transactions were far too frequent in those 
days to be- matters of reproof, or sources of shame, when 
discovered. Bribes were unblushingly offered, and greedily 
received; and the use of Spanish gold among British 
statesmen was, in the reign of James I., almost proverbial. 
The negotiation was denied neither by Cobham, nor by 
Ralegh. 

llpon this incident, wliich could have no relation to the 
plot whicli was immediately afterwards disclosed, tlie sub- 
stance of all that can witli a shadow of justice be urged 
against Raleigh's conduct as a loyal subject, entirely and 
solely depends. 

It was in the beginning of July that Cecil received, 
from Anthony Copley, the particulars of a conspiracy, of 
which Coplqy avowed liimself to be a party concerned. 
The intelligence conveyed by this man, affected only Grey 
and George Brooke, disclosing, on their part, a plot to seize 
the King's person, and other treasonable designs.* On 
receiving this intimation, the experienced niinitster imme- 
diately conjectured, that if Brooke were a principal, it was 
not unlikely that Cobham miglit also be concerned in the 
aftair ; from Cobham it was again natural to refer to Ra- 
legh, because, besides the well-laiown incapacity of the 
wretcliod peer to any bold undertaking, it was notorious 
^hat Ralegh }X)ssessod the greatest possible influence over 
the small degree of mind which (^ibliam possessed; an in- 
fluence so strong, that Brooke, in remarking upon it dur- 
ing the trial wliich aflerwards took place, called Ralegh, 
empiiatically, "the witch. "f 

Actuated by these suspicions, Cecil determined upon the 
apprehension of the supposed conspirators ; and meeting 
Ralegli on the terrace at Windsor, he desired him, as from 
the King, to remain, alleging that the lords of the privy 
council liad something upon wliich they wislied to com- 
municate with him. I lie was then examined ujxm the 
groimds of Cobham 's communications with Areniberg; but 
he entirely cleared the accused nobleman of any " cor- 

* Birch, i. 50. ' f Trial in Pref. to llisl. World, p. 15. ' 

t Ccril's Evidence in the Trial. Hop Cobbetl's State Trials, vol. ii. 
p 13. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALECH. 151 

respondence that niiffht not be warranted ;" referring Cecil 
to Laurencie for a fuller explanation ; a counsel which he 
subsequently rej)cated in a letter to the minister.* Cob- 
ham was then summoned to appear before the lords at 
Richmond ; and here, after for some time refusing to de- 
pose any thing at all,t he entirely exculpated Ralegh, and 
endeavored to exonerate liimself. But soon, the whole 
train of affairs was changed, by an artifice eternally dis- 
graceful to men of education and character, who were con- 
cerned in a solemn investigation tpuching the lives and 
reputations of others. A portion of Ralegh's letter to Cecil 
was shown to Cobham, who was led, from some expres- 
sions concerning Laurencie and D'Aremberg, to infer that 
Ralegh, in the remaining portion of the document, had be- 
trayed him. On reading these passa^^es, the wretched 
nobleman, conscious of his own nefarious dealings, and 
seized with a sudden impulse, almost diabolical in its na- 
ture, exclaimed, "Oh! traitor; oh! villain; now will I 
confess the whole truth !" This burst of passion was suc- 
ceeded by an avowal, or rather fabrication, which was but 
too eagerly received by the assembled enemies of the un- 
fortunate Ralegh. Under the impressions of cowardice, 
and the excitement of revenge, Cobham declared that it 
had been his intention to go into Spain for the purpose of 
borrowing the sum of one thousand crowns from Philip the 
Third, to pay the rebellious troops which were to be raised 
in tliis country. He also detailed a plan of returning to 
England by Jersey, where Ralegh, in his official situation 
as governor of that island, would be ready to discuss with 
him the mode of distribution of the money. His deposition 
was interspersed with many oaths and exclamations, and 
it was crowned by a protest, most earnestly desired by 
many of the bystanders, that at the instigati(m of Ralegh 
solely had he entered into these treasonable designs.^ 

With regard to other plots, this mean and dastardly be- 
trayer of his friend, with a degree of cunning worthy of 
his selfish character, declared his inability to give any dis- 
tinct account of them, although they had, he affirmed, fre- 
quently been the subjects of discourse between him and 
Ralegh : an unlimited field was thus lefl to the accusations 

• See Trial, p. 18. 

t Oldys, 151, fiom the arraiKiimcnt of Sir W. R. in Sherley'e Life. 

J See Trial. 



152 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

of the malignant, and to the attachment of any imputation 
which miglit chance, from other coincidences, to liave the 
appearance of probability. With the mconsistency of 
falsehood, Cobham, to his other allegations, added this 
strange and contradictory surmise, that he dreaded lest, on 
his return to Jersey, Ralegh should deliver him and the 
money he was desired to bring to tlie king.* After deliv- 
ering this evidence, which, incoherent and improbable as 
it was, decided the fete of Ralegh, Cobham was discharged ; 
but, even before he came to the stair-foot to depart from 
the council room, he was seized witli sudden remorse : he 
retracted his assertion, and confessed that he had injured 
his former associate and friend.f He refused for a long 
time to subscribe to his iniquitous testimony, which was 
taken down in \vriting, and could not be persuaded to do 
so, even after reading that letter of Ralegh's which so 
much enraged him, until Popham, the lord chief justice, 
being sent for, told him, that it would be considered as a 
contempt of court, if he did not sign his deposition. Nei- 
ther could he be induced to confirm tlie truth of an allega- 
tion which had been made by his brother Brooke, on his 
examination, tliat Cobham had remarked to Brooke that he 
and Grey were only upon the " bye," but tliat Ralegh and 
Jiimself were upon the " main." Tliis statement, on tlie 
part of Brooke, a known enemy of Ralegh, was also ex- 
plained by him to refer to the destruction of the King and 
his issue; a plot which was considered as being the 
" main" or chief end of the conspiracy, whilst the " bye" 
was supposed to refer to some amendments in state afl&irs, 
said to be desired by the other conspirators. Yet, notwitli- 
standing this denial on the part of Cobliam, this point was 
afterwards much insisted upon, and, during tlie trial, was 
made the pretext of imputing the cliief guilt in tlie affair to 
Ralegh. Thus, as it were, prejudged, and almost condemned 
by anticipation, Ralegh was indicted at Staines, in Middle- 
sex, on the 21st of September, and Cobham and Grey in 
the course of the three following days. They were then 
committed to the Tower.| 

Upon tlie grounds of Sir Walter Ralegh's commitment 
to prison, Cecil, recently created Baron Essenden, has ex- 

* Olilys, from Sheiley, p. 153. f Trial. 

i Stowu's Annals, folio 63. / 



LIFE OF SIR VVALTIilt UALi:ciU. 153 

plained himself in a letter to Sir Thomas Parry, at that 
time ambassador in Franco. With all his in<renuity and 
his love for the discovery of plots, the able secretary was 
unable to jrive any satisfactory reasons tor this jiroceeding-. 
"Concerninrr Sir Walter Ralegh's coniinitment," he ob- 
serves, " this hath been the jjround. He hath been discon- 
tented in conspcclu omnium ever since the King came ; 
and yet, for those offices vi'hich are taken ti-om him, the 
King gave him 3()0/. a-year during his life, and forgave him 
ag(x>d arrearage of debts." He then narrates the e.xamina- 
tions before the council, which, in the eye of justice, had 
been sufficiently retlited by the vacillating conduct of Cob- 
ham, his contradictions, and his violent, but too late repent- 
ance* ; and not being able to deduce from the vague accu- 
sations of Cobham the desired evidence of Ralegh's guilt, 
remarks that "his governing the Lord Cobham's spirit, 
made great suspicions that in tliese treasons he had his 
part." Such were the surmises upon which the brave, the 
wise, and the virtuous were too often consigned to un- 
merited disgrace and confinement in the boasted days of 
our ancestors. 

Since the tbrmer friendship between Ralegh and Cecil, 
and tlie apparent reluctance of the latter to aid the prose- 
cution of Ralegh upon his trial, may be considered as tend- 
ing to confinn his guilt, it is proper here to remark tliat re- 
cent investigationsf appear to show more fully than has 
heretofore been manifested, that dissensions between these 
two eminent men had commenced even during the pre- 
ceding reign, and had been disclosed to Cobham. In the 
postscript to a letter addressed to that nobleman, Ralegh 
epeaks with bitterness of Cecil's conduct to him m a certain 
law-suit, and designating the secretary by the sarcastic aj)- 
pellation of " my Lord Puritan Periam," denomices wrath 
against him in severe terms.J If professions of regard 
could, on the one hand, be so readily changed into con- 
tempt and anger, it is not very probable that they were very 
sincere, or stable, on the part of Cecil, whose worldly inte- 
rest it appeared to be to forsake even this hollow semblance 
of friendship towards Ralegh, on the accession of James. 
Cecil, indeed, seems to have made no exertion to save any 

* Coyley, i. p. 384., from Tepys's Library in Magdninn College, Cam 
bridge. 
t In the State Taper Offirc. { feu .Appendix, G. 



154 LIFE OF SIR WALTER KALEGII. 

of the prisoners from tlieir doom ; and conscious of the in- 
sufficiency of the evidence against Ralegh in an equitable 
point of view, he displays in his letters a desire to expatiate 
upon the circumstantial bearings of the case, and a dispo- 
sition to seize hold of every incident to confirm conjectures 
of his guilt. Under tlie mask of impartiality, and with 
6eeming;_liesitation, he labors to convince his correspondents 
at foreign courts of Ralegh's guilt, without directly ex- 
■^ pressing his entire conviction of it himself. Nothing can 
be more artftil, more essentially diplomatic, than those dis- 
patches* : yet truth will assert her power, and few calm 
and unprejudiced spectators were really convinced of 
Ralegh's co-operation in the wild schemes imputed to him. 

It is melancholy to learn that the fortitude of Ralegh 
deserted him at this crisis. The mind which could after- 
wards so nobly rally to support misfortune, sank beneath 
unexpected disgrace. That he attempted suicide, is a fact 
over which the Christian mourns in the bitterness of dis- 
appointment. The fatal blow was arrested by the merciful 
interposition of that pitying Providence, who willed tiiat 
he should live to retrieve the errors of an useful, but not 
faultless career. 

Ralegh, at this period of his life, displayed a proud and 
impatient spirit : adversity was almost entirely new to him, 
and her salutary lessons had been experienced in a slight 
and transitory manner. The season was yet to arrive in 
which this great, but erring man, was enabled to show, how, 
from degradation, lie could raise himself to glory, by the 
duties of submission and repentance, and by the wisdom of 
resignation. 

His despair must have been extreme, and it was unhap- 
pily construed into an admission of his guilt. For although, 
from the account of Cecil, he was on his commitment 
treated with humanity, and at first lodged and attended as 
well as in his own house,f lie could not suppress the ago- 
nies of his mind ; and one afternoon, whilst the secretary 
and otliers were examining some of tlie prisoners in the 
Tower, he stabbed himself in the breast, near his lieart, 
with a knife. When Cecil, on being informed of this at- 
tempt at self-destruction, came to him, he found him in 

* See his two letters to Sir T. Parry in Cayley, vol. i. p. 281. ond ii. 5., 
also his letters in VVinwood, vol. ii. p. 8. 
t Cayley, i. 305. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 155 

great mental distress, " protesting his innocency, with care- 
lessness of life." That his indilference to life was real, is 
obvious from his subsequent conduct at his trial, when he 
appeared far more anxious to vindicate his character, and 
to manifest the malice of his enemies, than to obtain their 
mediation for his forgiveness. Perhaps there are few men 
who can weigh the prospect of a long imprisonment with 
that of a speedy release by death, who would not, in tiic 
first agonies of such a prospect, be tempted to take their 
fate into their own hands, forgetful of their reliance upon 
that Supreme Providence under whose protection we may 
presume the innocent captive peculiarly to abide. 

Happily for mankind, happily for himself, the wound 
which Ralegh inflicted was not dangerous, being, as Cecil 
describes it, rather " a cut than a stab.*" The rash and 
criminal deed was committed on the twenty-seventh of 
July, 1603. By a letter from the lieutenant of the Tower, 
dated the thirtieth of the same month, he seems to have 
been almost restored to health, although still greatly agi- 
tated in mind.f " Sir Walter Ralegh's hurte," says tlie 
writer, addressing himself to Cecil, " wyll be within tlicsc 
two days perfectly hoole. He doth styll contynewe per- 
plexed as you leffte hym." From the same source we learn, 
that he greatly desired to be allowed the society of his friend 
Herriot ; but we are not informed whether his request was 
granted. 

With regard to the private examinations which were 
carried on between the interval of his first committal and 
his trial, Ralegh appears to have adopted a very difleront 
course to that pursued by the other prisoners. In a letter 
addressed to Cecil by Sir William Wade, and indorsed wit'i 
the words " to me" in the hand of the secretary himself,J 
it appears, that Ralegh at first preserved a resolute silence, 
which he at length relaxed, although with much caution ; 
" and I doubt not," observes Wade, " havinge now opened 
the hatche of his closet, he will losse reserve, and be more 
willing to utter that is behind." Previous to this intelli- 

* This attempt on the part of Ralegh is established by Cecil's Letters 
and by his Diary, preserved in the ilattield library, first brought to light 
by Cayley, vol. ii. ;iG(j. It is confirmed by a letter in the State Paper 
dfiice, now first printed in the Appendix, and alluding to the cure of tha 
wound. 

t See Appendix, II. | Appendix, L 



l66 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALIMFI. 

genco, which was sent to Cecil on the 27th of August 
nothing had been elicited from Ralcgli, nor does it appear, 
from any sonrce, that he subsequently conlirmcd tlie ex- 
pectations of Wade by disclosing any tiling of imiwrtance. 
Ilia declarations, and those of his attendant Keyniis, were 
taken,* and sent to Cecil in Sir Walter's own hand-writing. 
Tliesc, unluckily, liave not been transmitted to us in any 
manuscript collections, or have not been yet discovered. 
They, probably, contained asseverations of innocence, and 
were, perhaps, on tliat account, destroyed by Cecil. There 
was, evidently, considerable pains taken to win from him 
some admission of liis guilt, and had such been obtained, 
we siiould, no doubt, have been furnished with explicit and 
perhaps triumj)li!mt remarks upon it from the pen of Wade, 
who was indefatigable in his investigation of the prisonei-s.f 
On the contrary, Cecil, in his letter to Sir Ralph Winwood, 
then ambassador at the Hague, declares that Ralegii was 
firm in his asseverations of innocence. And yet, unsiiaken 
by tliis fact, or else determined to believe him guilty, he 
makes this invidious remark upon tlie circumstance, " that 
tiiough Sir Walter persists in liis denials, by liaving gotten 
some intelligence of tlie liord Cobham's retractation, yet 
the first accusation is so well fortified with other demon- 
strative circumstances, and the retractation so blemislie<l 
by tiie discovery of tJiat intelligence which they had, as 
few men caji conceive it comes from a pure heart." 

The consistent asseverations of Ralegh were strongly 
contrasted with the contessions, prevarications, and su])- 
plications of his fellow-prisonei-s. Grey, in his " declara- 
tion," as it was called, confessed tliat he had a " plot, a 
party, and confederates."! He furtiier acknowledged, that 
the object of this scheme was to surprise tiie King and his 
court. 5 And lie scorned not to address letters to the King, 
two of wliicii are still extant ;|| and probably several to 
Cecil, to one of whicii we liave the secretary's answer.li 
Tliese addresses were written with the Jiigh bearing of an 
Englisli peer, who insisted upon his services, and tliose of 
his ancestors, as claims to mercy, rather than on his own 

* See Appeiuli.v. I. & K. 

t Siicli is tlio poticrnl tenor of tlie letters in the State Taper Office, 
from Wade to Cecil. Nothing was, however, elicited from Ralosh. 
I Sec Appundi.x, L & K. § Winwood's Mem., vol. ii. p. 8. 

y In the Stale Paper Office, Appendix, L. & M. IF Appendix, O. 



;.IPE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 157 

innocence. They were penned with some ostentation of 
learning, which might, one would think, have aroused tlio 
sympathy of James ; but it is evident from Cecil's cautious, 
yet apparently kind reply, that the fate of this misguided 
but high-minded young nobleman was already doterniinod. 
Cobham attempted no new retractation of his confession, 
but resigned himself to the deepest depression of which 
his mean and selfish soul was susceptible, and adopted those 
humble terms of supplication which the basest craving ibr 
the boon of life could suggest. In the documents in the 
State Paper Office, so repeatedly referred to, his spirits are 
said to be " exceeding muche declyned, he is growne pas- 
sionate in lamentacion and sorrowe ; his only hope is in 
his Majestie's mercye, and Lord Cecil's mediation." Mean- 
while he addressed a letter to the Earls of Nottingham 
and Suffolk, and to Lord Cecil, praying for their mediation, 
in a mode which was extremely characteristic of his own 
base nature, and of the corruptions of the times, which 
emboldened him to hint to these three exalted personages, 
that the " lowness of his estate prevented his being able 
to promise them any requital of their favors.*" In this 
letter, he humbly sued for a private interview with those 
noblemen, to whom he promised " to disclose that wliich 
he had revealed to no other living creature." This seems 
to have been a last desperate attempt to obtain mercy ; for 
the truly abject composition was penned so late as October, 
about a month before the trials of the conspirators were to 
commence. Brooke, who, with Cobham, acknowledged the 
treasonable correspondence with Spain,f confessed also, (o 
the fullest extent, as much as Grey, and was declared by 
Wade " to be before, and not behind the rest, as well in 
ample declaration as in time.". From his evidence, it wns 
collected that Sir Walter Ralegh was " ordinarily twicrs 
a week witlr the Lord Cobham, but what their confer- 
encies were, none but themselves doe knowe. But Mr. 
Brooke confidently tliinketh, that wliat his brother knows, 
was known to y' other.f" This, as far as can be at present 
traced, was all the testimony given in the Tower whicli 
could possibly criminate Ralegh; and how little, in our 
more impartial and enlightened times, should we think of 

* Appendix, P. t Winwood, ii. p. 8. 

t See Letters from Stato Pajx^r OfTicc, Appendix, L. 

o 



158 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

such unsupported and indefinite allegations ! Like Grey 
and Cobham, Brooke addressed a petition to Cecil, whom 
lio endeavored to move by an alhision to his own sister, the 
deceased wife of Cecil, to whom he was thus closely allied 
by marriage. Tlie letter, like those of his fellow delin- 
quents, is extremely characteristic, and shows both the 
ability and acuteness of this designing but accomplished 
man : for Brooke was far superior to C'Obham in talents, 
acquirements, and courage, although resembling his despi- 
cable relative in his unprincipled conduct. He is supposed 
to have stimulated Cobliara to the selHsli and dangerous 
schemes wliich they had contemplated in concert witli 
Markham, Watson, Clerk, and the rest of the confed- 
erates. 

After Sir Walter had been examnied by I^ord Henry 
Howard, Lord Wotton, and Sir Edward Coke, lie addressed 
to the Enrls of Nottingham, Sntlblk, and Devonshire, and 
to Lord Cecil, a letter full of eloquent protestations of in- 
nocence, aud of soimd argument* This he followed witli 
a supplication to tlie King, to whom he represented tJiat it 
was one office of a just and merciful prince to liear the 
complaints of )iis vassal, and especially of such as were 
in misery."f These addresses, as it may be presumed, 
failed to propitiate those who were predetermined against 
him. 

Hopeless of morcy, and resting his chance of security 
upon the almost equally fallacious expectations of justice, 
Ilalegh, as the time appointed for his trial drew near, be- 
came extremely anxious to obtain from Cobham tliat justi- 
fication which his innocence, as he afiirmcd, demanded. 
Availing himself one evening of the absence of the lieu- 
tenant of tlie Tower at supper, he bribed a poor man to 
throw up into Cobiiam's apartment an apple, to which a 
letter was fastened. In this communication, Ralegh en- 
treated Cobham "for God's sake to do him justice in his 
answer, and signify to him that he had wronged liim in his 
accusation." To this request Cobham returned a reply, 
which, not being quite so explicit as Ralegh desired, he 
sent another letter to Cobham, similar in eflJect to tlic 
former; to this, although he required no answer, but mere- 
ly Qjpressed his desire that Cobham would declare his 

♦ Sec Ralegh's Remains. t Birch, ii. 377. 



LIFE OF Sill WALTER KALEGH. 159 

innocence at the trial, an emphatic assurance was returned, 
(leoIariniT Ralegli, in the most solemn terms, guiltless of 
all the charges.* , 

The plague was at this time raging in England, and, 
although the King and Queen, almost in defiance of its 
power, had been crowned at Westminster, yet little public 
business could now be transacted in the metropolis. Whilst 
a general panic pervaded all classes on account of this 
direful infection, it is remarkable that the unhappy prison- 
ers in the Tower were peculiarly exempt liom its influ- 
ence ; only one man, a porter in this ediiice, being attacked 
with it, and dying from its cruel elfects.f This might be 
some consolation at a time when diseased j)ersons were 
rushing out of the towns into the adjacent villages, and 
dying in barns and stables, into which the poor despairing 
wretches cast themselves, heedless of the dissemination of 
that infection by which they were themselves the suflbrers. 
Such was the state of anarchy produced by this public 
calamity, that constables could not be found who would, 
under any penalty, convey the infected persons to the pest- 
house. The bedding, straw, and clothes of those who had 
died of this frightful distemper were cast into the streets, 
and thus contagion borne on every breeze of wind, and 
hasty travellers and passengers endangered by these con- 
taminated articles. The cages and watch-houses in Lon- 
don and the suburbs were filled with the dying, and even 
the offices of burial could with difficulty be procured. In 
this awful visitation, the mayor and aldermen, and the jus- 
tices, deserted tiie city, and left it to its wretched fate, 
without a project ibr relief and prevention. The courts 
of law, after removing from place to place, and infecting 
many towns with the disorder, were held at Winchester, 
whither Ralegh and his companions were now removed for 
their several trials. On the tenth of September he was 
conveyed, in his own coach, first to Bagshot in Surrey, and 
thence two days afterwards to Winchester Castle. Such 
was the extreme, and almost unaccountable, popular aver- 
sion to this great man, that, as he travelled, he was fol- 
lowed by the execrations of the people through London 

* Ovcrbury's Copy of Sir W. Rnlcgirs Confession, p. 5. ed. J648. 

t As it apiwars by ii letter in tlie State Paper Office from Sir William 
Wailo to Cecil, dated August 31st, 1G03, from which also the following 
ubservations on the |)lagiic are taken. 



160 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

and the other towns ; and tobacco-pipes, stones, and mud 
thrown into his coach.* To these cruel insults he paid 
not tlie slightest notice, nor accorded the honor of his re- 
sentment. Regarding these ebullitions as tlie indications 
of a malignant taction, working upon the minds of the base 
and ignorant, he viewed them with a calm and almost 
cheerful countenance, nor suffered a murmur to escape 
him ; yet his personal danger nuist have been great, from 
the account which Sir William Wade transmitted to Cecil 
shortly after tiie arrival of the prisoners at Winchester. 
"I thanke God," says the conductor of this important 
charge, " we brought all our prisoners safely hither yes- 
terday night in good tyme ; and yet I protest to your Lord- 
ship, it was hab or nab whether Sir Walter Rawley should 
liave bin brought a live thorow such multitudes of unruly 
people as did exclaym against hym. He tliat had seen it 
would not think there had bin any sicknes in London ; we 
toke the best order we could, in setting watches tliorow 
all the streets, both in London and in the suburbs : if one 
hair-brain fellow amongst so great multitudes had begunn 
to set upon him, as they were verry nere to do it, no nit- 
watch or meanns could Jiave prevayled, the fury and 
tumult of tlie people was so greatf" The time was, 
however, approaching, when these sentiments of detesta- 
tion were to be changed into those of compassion, respect, 
and admiration. 

* Lodge's Illustrations Hist. iii. 417. 

t See Appendix, Q,. Letter from Wade to Cecil, dated Aug. 31. 1603. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 161 



CHAP. V. 

Trial of Ralegh.— Character of Sir Edward Coke— Affair of the Lady 
Arabella. — Conduct and Sentence of tlie Prisoners. 

On the seventeenth day of the month, the trial of Ralegh 
came on, before Lord Cecil, now Earl of Salisbury, the 
Earl of Suftblk, Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Devonshire, 
Lord Henry Howard, Lord Wotton, Sir John Stanhope, 
Vice Chamberlain, Popham, Lord Chief Justice, Anderson, 
Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Sir William 
Wade, and two judges, Warburton and Gaudy. Several 
amongst these individuals had already been employed to 
examine Ralegh, and to investigate the whole aflair. It is 
remarkable that nothing to his disadvantage had been as 
yet elicited. In the correspondence in the State Paper 
Office, there occurs, indeed, the following observation, 
from the pen of Sir William Wade, addressed, as usual, to 
Cecil ; but it is wholly unexplained and ambiguous : — " It 
may please your good lordship, by my Lord Henry Howard, 
I was bold to treble your lordship with the short collection 
of these last labors, which have gretly entangled Sir 
Walter Rawley, or rather disclosed him from his covert ; 
and also discovered that depthe of malice in my Lord Cob- 
ham's purposes, as to me seeme very strange." 

The jury, consisting of an equal number of knights, 
esquires, and gentlemen, were not personally known to 
Rjilcgh, and, it was reported, had been changed even tlie 
night before, the foreman, and one or two individuals who 
had been first chosen, having been old and favorite servants 
of Queen Elizabeth, and therefore not likely to prove so 
ready to convict one who had also enjoyed the confidence 
of that princess, as tliose whose chief object was to obtain 
the favor of the reigning monarch.* 

After the usual forms had been passed, the indictment 
was read, and Sir Walter pleaded " Not guilty." The 
general tenor of the ciiarges amounted to this efiect : that 
he had conspired to deprive the king of his government, to 

* Observations on Sanderson's History of Mary Queen of Scots and 
her Son. I'age 8 4to. 1656. 

O 2 



162 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

raise up sedition, to introduce the Romish religion, and to 
procure foreign enemies to invade the kingdom.* The in- 
dictment tiien entered into the supposed particulars of this 
plot, which were derived from the confessions of Cobham 
and Brooke. He was also charged with having composed 
a book against the king's title, and instigated Arabella to 
write three letters ; one to the King of Spain, another to 
the Archduke of Austria, and a third to the Duke of Savoy, 
in order to persuade them to advance her title. The rest 
of tlie charges related to the transactions between Arem- 
berg and Cobham, and to the agreement between that no- 
bleman and Ralegh, that the latter should obtain eight 
thousand crowns of the money said to be raised on the part 
of Spain. 

Ralegh, on being asked if he would " take exceptions 
to any of the jury V replied, " I know none of them ^ they 
are all Christians and honest gentlemen : I except against 
none." He then requested to be allowed to answer every 
point particularly, as delivered, " by reason of the weak- 
ness of his memory, and sickness." Heale, the King's ser- 
geant at law, proceeded to address the court, and, in a short, 
but violent speech, gave a lamentable specimen of the le- 
gal oratory of the day. A far greater display of eloquence 
was expected from tlie attorney-general. Sir Edward Coke, 
afterwards lord chief justice, who liad recently received 
the order of kniglithood, and had formerly enjoyed the far 
greater honor of being frequently consulted by Queen 
Elizabeth and her council in matters of state, not immedi- 
ately connected with his professional duties. As nature, 
in dealing with Bacon, the great rival of Coke, seemed to 
have forgotten, among her immerous gifts to that illustrious 
person, the endowment of a heart ; so, in the constitution 
of Coke, if she had bestowed originally warmer and better 
dispositions, she had not guarded him with resolution suffi- 
cient to defend himself from the corruptions of the times, 
and from the effects of the political and professional inter- 
ests in which he lived and moved. Violent and rancorous 
towards those whom guilt or misfortune placed beneath 
his iron grasp. Coke was remarkable for a paltry obsequi- 
ousness to the great and powerful, who were able to confer 
those temporal advantages upon which he vainly and wick- 

* Cobbetl's State Trials, vol. ii. p. 1. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 163 

edly doted. It was still fresh in the recollection of all 
classes, that he had pursued the earl of Essex, and his fel- 
low prisoner, Lord Southampton, with a malignity which 
was the more contemptible, as it proceeded, not so much 
from Jiis own personal resentment, as from his ambition to 
gratify the Queen, whose mingled sentiments of love and 
anger he seems not to have comprehended. Coke was 
connected with Cecil by his marriage with the secretary's 
sister, which, on account of its irregularity, for which the 
parties pleaded, it is strange to say, ignorance of law, had 
been visited with severe penalties by the church. It may 
be presumed, from this affinity to Cecil, that Coke was not 
disposed to relax from his usual line of conduct in prosecu- 
tions, from favor to Ralegh, whose bitterest enemy he had 
already proved himself to be, by examining him as to what 
he knew of the guilt of Essex, and thus contributing to 
render him odious to the people. Influenced by all these 
considerations, this indefatigable lawyer came to the trial 
of the most accomplished gentleman of England with a 
more than wonted preparation of gall and sarcasm on his 
brow ; with the vehemence of party zeal, heightened by 
private interest ; and with an habitual violence of temper, 
apparently aggravated by an insolent triumph in grappling 
with so illustrious an enemy, and by an opportunity of re- 
ducing the admired of all observers to the level of a com- 
mon prisoner. Such was the impression which the deport- 
ment of Coke conveyed to all unprejudiced spectators ; and, 
if posterity be thought to have dealt hardly with him, in 
condemning him for a mode, then not uncommon, of pur- 
suing his professional duties, let it be remembered that he 
lost a glorious occasion of showing forbearance and impar- 
tiality to a persecuted individual ; of paying a tribute to the 
merit and talents of the unhappy prisoner, even whilst he 
reprobated, as they the more enhanced, the danger of his 
imputed crimes; or, if such a line of conduct were deemed 
incompatible with the severe exercise of his legal func- 
tipns, decency and humanity might have guarded the fallen 
foe at least from insult. But Coke was blinded by a gross 
selfishness, which could only in subsequent disgrace and 
misfortune give place to more liberal and philanthropic 
views. The illustrious Bacon, at a later period, addressed 
to him this reproof: — "As in your pleadings you were 
wont to insult over misery, and to inveigh bitterly at the 



164 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

persons, wliich bred you many enemies, whose poison yet 
svvelleth, and the eftects now appear, so you are still wont 
to be a little careless in this point ; to praise or disgrace 
upon slight grounds, and that sometimes untruly, so that 
your reproofs for the most part are neglected or contenm- 
ed ; when the censure of a judge, coming slow, but sure, 
should be a brand to the guilty, and a crown to tlie virtu- 
ous." 

The attorney-general began his harangue with a decla- 
ration, too soon proved to be fallacious, that nothing but 
plain evidence should condemn " the prisoner." He 
rang changes upon the different modes and degrees of 
mischief, subdividing its import into " imitation, supporta- 
tion, and defence ;" he gave a summary of the principal 
charges, comparing the several plots to Samson's foxes, 
" which were joined in the tails, although their heads were 
severed." He declared it to be the intention of the con- 
spirators to njake Watson lord chancellor, Brooke lord treas- 
urer, Markliam secretary, and Grey earl marshal. He 
dealt in nice definitions, and in labored, puzzling disquisi- 
tions, interspersed with much law, some learning, and no 
small portion of flattery to the King. He described treason 
as in the heart, the hand, the moutli, and in consummation ; 
comparing that in corde to the root of a tree ; in ore, to 
the bud ; in manu, to the blossom ; and that in consumma- 
tione, to the fruit. After this display of oratory, he sliowed 
how little he was restrained by a sense of justice, either in 
his assertions or in his examinations, for, on some questions 
being asked by Ralegh, he broke out into the exclamation, 
" I \vill prove you the notoriousest traitor that ever came to 
the bar." This coarse and even brutal mode of address 
was succeeded by a torrent of invective, in which the 
learned counsel labored to cast upon Ralegh, as the ablest 
individual of the conspiracy, the swordsman and penman 
of the group, " the very head and front of the offences." 
Since no evidence could possibly be brought of Ralegh's 
personal co-operation in the conspiracy to seize the King, 
he was stated to have been guilty of participation in the 
plots of Markham and Brooke, by imitalion ; but, on his re- 
quiring the proof of this allegation, he was called by Coke, 
a " monster having ajj English face, but a Spanish heart," 
and forbidden to speak, until the interference of Cecil pro- 
duced greater moderation. A long speech was, however, 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 165 

endured, containing such interpolations of abuse as the fol- 
lowing : " the most horrible practices that ever came out 
of the bottomless pit of the lowest hell ;" " You are the ab- 
solutest traitor that ever was ;" " Thou traitor, thou viper ;"* 
to all which Ralegh, with caly dignity, replied, " that he 
would wash his hands of the indictment, and die a true 
man to the King." The deposition of Lord Cobham was 
then read. This had been solemnly retracted ; yet it con- 
stituted the material evidence upon which the case for the 
prosecution rested.f Ralegh's confession was also pro- 
duced ; the whole purport of which was, that he had been 
offered by Cobham 8000 crowns if he would further the 
peace between Spain and England ; a proposal to which he 
replied, " when I see the money, I will tell you more ;" 
" for he thought it was one of Cobham's ordinary idle con- 
ceits, and, therefore, made no account thereof.J" After 
many circumlocutions, and much perversion of the evi- 
dence, which consisted, in general, of little but a recapitu- 
lation of that which had already transpired upon the pre- 
vious examinations, Ralegh rose to make his defence. 
With the clearness of a well-arranged mind, he exposed 
the illegal nature of the testimony upon which his fate de- 
pended, which must either " condemn him, or give him 
life ; set him free, or send his wife and children about the 
streets to beg their bread." He first denied having ever 
had the slightest concern in the succession of Arabella, to 
whom he had, as it appears, a personal dislike. J On the 
mention of her name, either at this period of the proceedings, 
or at some other point, attention was drawn to that lady, 
who, as well as the Countess of Nottingham, the Countess 
'of Suffolk, and other ladies of distinction, was in Court,|| in 
' a gallery, with the Lord Admiral. Lord Cecil then said, 
I " Here hath been a touch of the Lady Arabella Stuart, the 
King's near kinswoman ; let us not scandal the innocent 
by confusion of speech. She is as innocent of all these 
things as I or any man here ; only she received a let- 

* Coke is supposed to have excited the well-merited satire of Shak- 
speare by these effusions of passion, or manceuvres of interest ; and our 
great poet is thought to allude to this memorable scene, when, in Twefth 
Night, Sir Toby, giving Sir Andrew directions to challenge Viola, says 
to him, " If thou tlwu'st him twice, it may not be amiss." 

t Trial. t Lodge's Illustrations, vol. iii. note 217. 

§ See Sir Dudley Carleton's Letters in Cobbctt's State Trials. 

II Ibid. 



166 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ter- from my Lord. Cobham, to prepare her, which she 
laughed at, and immediately sent it to the King." The 
Lord Admiral then added, "The lady doth here protest 
upon her salvation, that she never dealt in any of these 
things, and so she willed m^ to tell the court." 

Thus viras this part of the indictment dismissed, but to 
what extent the reflections, touching the loyalty of Ara- 
bella, and her connexion with the conspirators, were per- 
mitted to go, is not known, because all the notes of the 
trial relative to her were suppressed, except tliose relating 
to her justification, which are supposed to have been inad- 
vertently published.* 

Ralegh also refuted the notion of a design to borrow 
money from the King of Spain, whom he represented as 
one of the proudest, yet poorest princes of Christendom. 
He declared that his intimacy with Cobliam originated in 
the management which he took in the aflairs of that noble- 
man ; and that he had, at the time of his arrest, several 
valuable jewels belonging to Cobham in his charge. He 
represented how improbable it was that Cobham should 
leave so much property to be confiscated, if he intended to 
become an outlaw, besides taking into account recent ad- 
ditions of considerable extent which the Earl had made to 
his library at Canterbury.! He declared his willingness 
to confess the truth of the charges against him, and to for- 
feit his life, if Cobham, when confronted with him, would 
persist in swearing to the truth of that which he had de- 
posed ; and he was seconded in his earnest petitions for tlie 
production of Cobham before the Court, by Cecil, J who ap- 
pears alone of all the commissioners to have aft'ected any 
show of impartiality and moderation. The Lord Chief 
Justice then commented upon Cobham's unwillingness to 
sign his deposition ; and Cecil next described his own 
share in the apprehension of the prisoners, premising that 
a " former dearness between him and Ralegh had tied a 
firm knot of his conceit of Ralegh's virtues, now broken by 
a discovery of his imperfections. J" This allusion to their for- 
mer friendship, this reference to Ralegh's prosperous days, 
conveyed, perhaps, to his breast a sting more subtle, and more 
keen, than the coarse and venomous revilings of Coke ; 
but the cautious and wily remark of the once familiar 

* Lodge, note, iii. 217. t Trial. J Lodge. § Trial. 



LIFE OF Sm WALTER RALEGH. 167 

friend of the unhappy prisoner was, doubtless, intended 
both as an apology to the King, for his previous intimacy 
witli RalegJi, and as a justification to tlie public for his ac- 
quiescence in the persecution of one with whom he had 
taken " sweet counsel." Yet some natural tears were ob- 
served to escape from Cecil, as also from the Earl of Mar*= ; 
the selfishness of ambition not having altogether annihi- 
lated every kindlier emotion. 

Meanwhile the trial proceeded, and so temperate were 
Ralegh's replies, so wise and so ready his refutations of all 
objections, that an universal sentiment of good-will pre- 
vailed towards him.f His arguments were ingeniously 
interwoven with sentences of divinity, humanity, civil law, 
and common law ; and such was liis display of legal know- 
ledge, that he was generally reported to have studied for 
the bar at an early period of his life. But all his exertions 
were unavailing, and the greater the learning and ability 
which he manifested, the more were his enemies resolved 
on crushing so dangerous a foe. In vain did he ask for 
common justice, in desiring that the charges should not be 
admitted on the evidence of one witness : " You try me," 
said he, "by the evidence of the Spanish inquisition, if you 
proceed without two witnesses." Upon which he was told 
by Coke, that he " spoke treason.^" He was informed by 
the lord chief justice, that the statutes of the twenty-fifth 
of Edward the Third, and fifth of Edward the Sixth, re- 
quiring two witnesses, were repealed, and that it was now 
sufficient if there were depositions under either hand, or by 
the testimony of witnesses, or even that it needed not the 
subscription of the party, so there be hands of credible men 
to testify the examination.^" Such was the perversion of 
a law too obviously just to need any comment. Men, who 
could thus act for party purposes, would soon refine away 
even sacred writ to countenance injustice. This destitu- 
tion of principle, this mournful sign of the times, was too 
well seen and fulfilled in the succeeding reigns, when 
Scripture was made the watch-word for every instance of 
oppression, and the barriers of moral honesty and of good 
faith lamentably broken. Those persons who are curious 
to peruse a tissue of falsehood, calumny, and contradiction, 

* Lodge, iii. 216. from the Talbot Papers. 

t Lodge. I Trial. § Ibid. 



168 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

should refer to the details of that process, falsely called a 
trial, by which Ralegh was condemned. Vehement abuse 
from Coke, a sly and ingenious construction of every friv- 
olous circumstance into a confirmation of tiie main charge 
on the part of Cecil, and a shameless departure from legal 
exactness in Popham and the other judges, werethe char- 
acteristics of this proceeding. Happily for Ralegh, whilst 
his patience and ingenuity were thus painfully exercised, 
an opportunity was afforded to him for tlie explanation of 
every minute detail of his case. It was well observed by 
an eye-witness, that " he served for a whole act, and played 
all the parts himself*" Borne down on all sides, he ap- 
peared truly great during the wliole of this scene, which 
lasted from eight in the morning, until seven in the even- 
ing. Humble, without servility, serious, yet not dejected, 
" towards the jury not fawning, nor believing, nor hoping 
in them," he stood before his enemies with the collected 
and commanding appearance of one who " rather loves life 
than fears death," and who seeks to rescue his name ftom 
infamy in the serenity and dignity of a blameless con- 
science.! All who belield him were astonished that a man 
of his known spirit could brook the insults wliich he re- 
ceived, with a degree of calmness which threw the oppro- 
brium from himself upon his opponents. Yet, although it 
was said, that he " seemed to cast himself for very weari- 
ness, afraid to detain the company too long," he seems to 
have left no effort unemployed to manifest Jiis innocence; 
and such were the temper, wit, and address which he dis- 
played, that had it not been for the sad cause of these ex- 
ertions, it would liave been one of the most brilliant and 
successful days of his life. J Repeatedly did he urge that 
Cobham should be produced and confronted with him, al- 
leging that a similar privilege had been conceded even to 
Campion the Jesuit; but it was contested by Coke, and 
negatived by tlie Lord Chief Justice Popham, too justly 
and expressively called by Camden, a " censorious man," 
and who proved liimself not to be a very wise one, by di- 
vulging the secret of the refusal in his remark, " that Cob- 
ham, to procure the acquittal of an old friend, might be 
moved to speak otherwise than the truth." On the part of 

* Dudley Carleton. Hardvvieke State Papers, i. 397. 

t Wilson, 714. J Dudley Cnrletpn. Letter in Cobbett, vol. ii. p. 47. 



Lirii Ol *IU WALTtK ItAI.IitiM 10» 

that treacherous nobleiiian, two contradictory lulters were 
produced ; the one, confirming the charges, and adding to 
them fresh particulars ; the other " declaring, upon his sal- 
vation," that Ralegh was innocent. This was the last 
evidence ; yet tlie subservient jury retired for a quarter of 
an hour only, and returned a verdict of guilt ij ; a sentence 
which must have been previously determined ; for had a 
due and conscientious consideration of this case been given, 
it would, even by the enemies of Ralegh, have been con- 
sidered SiS one of extreme embarrassment and difficulty. 
The Lord Chief Justice might well observe, in his charge, 
Uiat " he had never before seen the like trial, and hoped that 
he should never see the like again." Ralegh, on hearing 
the verdict, calmly reiterated his denial of the principal 
charges, and hoped that the King would be informed of the 
wrong he had received that day from the attorney. He 
then declared his submission to the royal pleasure, recom- 
mending his wife, and " son of tender years, unbrought up," 
to his JNIajesty's compassion. After a long explanatory 
harangue from the Chief Justice, in which he told Ralegh, 
that his conceit "of not confessing any thing was very in- 
human and wicked," the unfortunate prisoner was sen- 
tenced to be hanged, and afterwards beheaded, with all the 
usual, horrible, and barbarous accompaniments, which 
were, in those days, thought necessary to the effective ex- 
ecution of the law. Sir Walter then addressed the Earl 
of Devonshire, and the other Lords, beseeching them, by 
their interest v/ith the King, to obtain a remission of the 
ignominious mode of his death. This they promised* ; but 
he is said to have procured also an interview with the 
Lords in private, and to have again entreated that Cobhani 
might be produced, and might die before him ; on which 
solemn occasion he had, he declared, no doubt that Cobham 
would retract all that he had said.f He was then con- 
ducted to the castle, to which he returned, according to 
the account given by Sir Thomas Overburj', " with an ad- 
mirable erection, and yet in such sort as a condemned man 
should do. J" ^ 

It is said, that some of the jury who had condemned him, 
were so " touched in their consciences," as to ask his par- 

♦ Trial, 21 t Lodge, iii. 216. 

J 0\Terlnin's Anaijninent of S. \V. Ralegrh, 53. 

P 



170 ].IFE OF SIR WAT.rr.R R.M.i:fiM 

don on their knees"*- ; but this is scarcely probable, since 
the men wlio ^a\'e such a verJict must either liavc been 
compelled by fear, or induced l)y bribery, to compromise 
their sense of justice : and either of these motives would 
have kept them silent afler their decision. It has also been 
related of Sir Exlvvard Coke, that when he retired, after the 
trial, to take the air of tiie garden, and that intelliijence 
was brought to him that Ralegh was convicted of treason, 
he felt, or affected, extreme surprise, declaring that he 
had himself only accused him of misprision of treason. 
This anecdote has been attributed to the pen of Care w, the 
Fon of Sir Walter Ralegh ; but it is neither well authen- 
ticated, nor does it appear to be consistent with the con- 
duct and expressions of the implacable lawyer during the 
trial. It is however possible, that Coke may have perceived 
that he had allowed himself too mucli latitude of abuse, 
and that he had injured himself in public estimation ; since, 
in the words of Ralegh himself, in a letter addressed to 
Sir Robert Carr, " The hearing of his cause had changed 
enemies into friends, malice into compassion, and the minds 
of the greatest number then present into commiseration 
of his estate.f" Sir Roger Aston, then in the confidential 
employ of the King, and the first who carried the intelli- 
gence of Ralegh's condemnation to James, -affirmed, on this 
occasion, " that never had man spoken so well in times 
passed, nor would do in times to come." And his compan- 
ion, a Scotcliman, asserted, " that although he would, before 
his trial, have gone a thousand miles to see him hanged, he 
would, ere he parted, have gone a thousand miles to have 
saved his life." In short, never, according to the acknow- 
ledgment even of his enemies, was a man so much loved 
and so much hated, in so short a timet ; and seldom, per- 
haps, have the advantages of moral courage, and of a well- 
governed spirit, been manifested more conspicuously. 

A singular contrast to the admirable deportment of Ra- 
legh was presented in the conduct of Cobham, who was 
next brought to play his part before the tribunal which had 
condemned his former friend. To the indictment he lis- 
tened with fear and trembling, interrupting the charges at 
intervals by forswearing certain particulars, so that he im- 

* Weldon, 3-2. t Winwood's Lettera. 

t Sir Dudley Carleton's Letters, from the Hardwicke Papers. See 
Cobhp|t,2ia 



IJFE OF SIR WALTER RALEOII. 171 

mediately divulged, with the rashness of a coward, what 
he would affirm or deny. His doom was quickly decided ; 
for, although he found means to implicate all his friends in 
the conspiracy he could not succeed in clearing himself. 
He represented Ralegh as the cause of his being stirred up 
to discontents, and he alluded to imaginations, but would 
not allow any purposes of a criminal nature.* On being 
questioned respecting the two letters which he had written, 
tlie one condemning the other exculpating Ralegh, he de- 
clared that the first letter was true, the latter having been 
gained from him by a stratagem, by young Harvey, who 
was the son of the lieutenant of the Tower, and was under 
the influence of Ralegh. The peers immediately found 
Cobham guilty ; and it aflbrds a strong presumptive proof 
in Ralegh's favor, that the abject culprit pleaded his first con- 
fession as a claim for pardon, accompanying his petition with 
long and persevering entreaties for life and mercy, which 
were peremptorily refused. 

The high-minded drey was next brought to the bar ; and, 
although clearly convicted of a plot to seize the King's per- 
son, he redeemed, by his dauntless demeanor, the character 
of a British peer from the ignominy which the conduct of 
Cobham had brought upon his rank and station. Grey be- 
gan, with great courage, to tell the lords coqimissioners of 
their duties, and kept them from eight in the mornhig until 
eight in the evening in " traverses and subterfuges." He 
conducted himself with the self-possession of a man, who, 
from a misapprehension of his duties to his country, con- 
sidered himself innocent, and with the energy of one who 
was determined not to relinquish life without a struggle. 
He excused his share in the conspiracy, on the ground of 
his desiring to present a petition for the reformation of 
abuses ; but the evidence of Brooke and Markham was de- 
cisive against this part of his defence. The presiding lords 
evinced, nevertheless, considerable reluctance in convicting 
one who must have appeared to the more experienced mem- 
bers of their number to have been rather misguided by 
false principles, than instigated by criminal motives. They 
beheld, also, in Grey, the young companion of many of the 
junior members of the aristocracy, himself the represent- 
ative of one of its proudest families. Long and painfully 

♦ I>iii!lrv < arl'toii. 



172 LIFE OF SIR WALTER : 

they demurred, and even his enemies dared not to utter, in 
open court, that which they might desire to urge in aggra- 
vation of his fault : whilst some, who deemed him guilty, 
" would lain have dispensed with their consciences to have 
shown him favor.*" Yet he was also condemned ; and, on 
being asked if he had any thing to allege why sentence 
of death should not be passed upon him, he replied : " I 
have nothing to say ;" and tlicn, after a long pause, during 
which, perhaps, a desire of life contended with the mag- 
nanimity of a noble nature, he added these noble and af- 
fecting words : — " and yet a word of Tacitus comes in my 
mind, ^no7i eadem 077inibus decora ;' the house of the Wil- 
tons have spent many lives in their princes' service, and 
Grey cannot beg his. God send the King a long and 
prosperous reign, and to your Lordships all honor.f" The 
fate of the remaining conspirators excited but little public 
interest" Brooke, on his trial, pleaded a commission to try 
faithful subjects, but was unable to produce the document. 
He was executed on the fifth of November, in the castle 
of Winchester; and, shortly before his deatli, confessed to 
the bishop who administered to him the sacrament, that he 
had falsely accused Lord Cobhain, his brother, and Ralegh, 
in ascribing to them the treasonable speeches which formed 
the basis of tUeir accusations. This circumstance is related 
by Cecil himself in his letters, and is accompanied with a 
commendation of Brooke's remorse| ; it has weighed much 
in Ralegh's favor, not only with his contemporaries, but 
with those who, being removed at a sufficient distance of 
time to judge without partiality of his cause, have deemed 
the very nature of the evidence sufficient to impugn the 
justice of his trial. " I would know," says Sir John Hale?, 
" by what law Brooke's deposition of what the Lord Cobhani 
had told him of the fact, was evidence against Ralegh ] I 
■would know by what statute the statutes of the 25th of I'M- 
■ward ni., and 5th of Edward VL are repealed." In short, 
this celebrated lawyer, in his work on the magistracy and 
government of England, pronounces the trial of Ralegh to 
be, on this and other grounds, very irregular throughout, 
the aecusations against him not amounting to legal proof.^ 
When the proceedings relative to his own trial were 



f Tbiit Brvdges' Exiinrt Pefliape, 73— 'P. 
^ Birrli, i. lift. 



Llt^li OK Sill WALTER KAI.EGH. 173 

finally ami liopelessly closed, Raleo^li, with fortitude and 
decency, prepared to follow the sheriff to the prison, whence 
he expected to issue only to close a life of activity and of 
vicissitude on the scaffold. In following him in imagination 
into, the gloom of confinement, one reflection alone, in 
reviewing his conduct as a subject, seems likely to have 
disturbed the tranquillity of a conscience entirely at peace 
with itself In a letter which he wrote to the King, Ralegli 
acknowledged, before his trial, as he had also done to Cecil 
and the Lords who were appointed to examine him, the 
only offence which could justly be laid to his charge, that 
of listening to the proposals made by Cobham of a bribe 
from Spain, although he declared that he neither believed 
nor approved it.* It is, indeed, to be feared, that there was 
some deviation from the rules of strict integrity, induced, 
too probably, by the temptation of turning his abilities and 
influence to account ; for a strange contradiction existed in 
the character of Ralegh, who, while he freely promoted, at 
his own expense, the schemes which he projected for the 
extension of British dominion, was clear neither from the 
imputation of receiving bribes from his own countrymen, 
nor from the disposition to admit them from foreign states. 
Avarice, unguarded by a nice and delicate sense of honor, 
was the prevailing vice of the day, and few statesmen 
were, in those times, exempt from stains upon their purity 
of conduct, which would at present consign persons in simi- 
lar stations to merited and irremediable disgrace.f 

Whether engaged in mournful retrospections, or in fear- 
ful anticipations, Ralegh had not now the consolation 
which was afterwards afforded him in the society of his 
distressed and devoted wife. Although absent from him 
for whom she endured so much, tliis unfortunate lady re- 
la.xed not in her exertions to redeem from destruction the 
object of her earliest affections, and the pride of maturer 
years. Three years afterwards, when the King was in all 
his pomp and state, at Hampton Court, and when the revels 
of the gay and great were at their height, we read of the 
humiliated and neglected Lady Ralegh kneeling to him 
in behalf of her husband, but passed in silence by the Mon- 
arch. | That Ralegh estimated her affection, and appre- 

♦ Cayleys Life of Ralegh, i. 367. Also Ralegh's Remains, p. 188. 
t In proof of this aegeition, see note. Lodge's HL vol. iii. p. 286. 
t Lodge, iii. 313. 

P2 



174 LIFE or SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ciated the stvengtli and elevation of her character, is evi- 
dent from the tone of tlie eloquent and pathetic letter 
which it was almost his earliest care to address to her after 
his trial.* He wrote, indeed, in the first instance, to the 
king ;t but finding his petitions fruitless, he now directed 
to his wife and to his child every wish which anxious affec- 
tion could dictate. His earnest desire seems to have been, 
that no fruitless sorrows should diminish the power of ex- 
ertion which the helpless orphan whom he expected to 
eave, would fully require from his surviving parent. 
" Let my sorrows," said he, " go into my grave with me, 
and be buried in the dust And, seeing it is not the will 
of God that ever I shall see you more in this life, bear it 
patiently, and with a heart like thyself" He entreated 
her, not by seclusion and fruitless sorrow, to lose the bene- 
fits of exertion ; " thy mournings cannot avail me : I am 
but dust. Remember your poor child for his father's sake, 
who chose you and loved you in his happiest time." Such 
are, in part, the exhortations with which Ralegh sought to 
strengthen the resolution, and to sustain the spirits of one 
whom he thought soon to consign to the neglect and indif- 
ference of the world. 

The death of Ralegh and of the otlier prisoners was now 
daily expected at Winchester ; and, on the ninth of De- 
cember, the King, at Wilton, signed the warrants for the 
execution of Cobham, Grey, and Sir Griffin Markham; 
Brooke, Clarke, \^'atson, and the two priests, having pre- 
viously suffered. Meanwhile the benefit of spiritual aid 
was afforded to the condemned men, the Bishop of Chi- 
chester being inttusted with the awful responsibility of 
preparing the dastard soul of Cobham for its departure 
from a state which lie had too fondly valued.J The prelate 
who was deputed to this difficult office was Dr. Anthony 
Watson, who had been the King's almoner, and had been 
patronized by the Queen for his talents as a preacher. He 
was beloved, also, in his diocese, and bore so exemplary a 
character for the discharge of his duties,^ that there is no 
reason to suppose that he would not endeavor to impress 
Cobham with a deep sense of his unfitness to enter upon 



• Scfi Appendix, L. t See CTylry. vol. ii p 31. 

t Carleton's LPtUra, Cobhett. vnl ii. p. .51. 
§ Kiigw Aniiqij.T. ii. !■'* 



LIFE OF SIR VVALTKR RALEGH. 175 

eternity. Yet it appears to have been the chief solicitude 
of all who were concerned in the care of the prisoners, to 
induce them to suffer, without contradicting their previous 
testimony. Accordingly, we are told by one who was at 
this time at the very scene of action,* that the reverend 
prelate " found in Cobham a willingness to die, and a 
readiness to die well ;" expressions which are further ex- 
plained by the words, " with purpose at his death to affirm 
as much as he had said against Ralegh." It is not unchar- 
itable to suppose that Cobham's spiritual guide found it far 
more easy to confirm him m this resolution, than to move 
him to emotions of penitence, or acts of justice. But Cob- 
ham was reserved to a long course of suflTering, and to a 
prostration both of body and mind, which may possibly 
nave elevated and chastened his grovelling soul. 

The grave divine, to whose lot it fell to bring Ralegh to 
a contrite disclosure of his errors, and, in particular, to a 
confession of his alleged treasonable practices, was Doctor 
Thomas Bilson, Bishop of Winchester. Sir John Harring- 
ton, in describing this prelate to the young prince Henry, 
depicts him as " carrying prelature in his very aspeet.f" 
He rose to his eminent station solely by his learning, but 
adopted means to retain it, which cannot be justified, 
having obtained the name of " Nullity Bilson," by his sub- 
serviency in devising a nullity of the marriage between 
the Earl and Countess of Essex, in order to accommodate 
Carr, Earl of Somerset, the notorious favorite of James I.|: 
It was, probably, on account of Doctor Bilson's classical and 
general attainments that he was commissioned to under- 
take the charge of reconciling Ralegh to his doom ; for the 
universal and just opinion of Ralegh's intellectual superi- 
ority to other men, would naturally actuate the choice of 
him who was appointed to exert a spiritual inffuence over 
his mind. Some similarity subsisted, also, between the 
pursuits of this divine and those of Ralegh. The reverend 
Doctor was not only deeply versed in philosophy and di- 
vinity, but in the less important pursuits of poetry and the 
dead languages. J He had formerly been master of Win- 
chester school, and might reasonably be supposed, in his 
capacity of a teacher, to have looked closely into the human 



• Sir Dudley Carleton. tNugse.OO. 

t Note in Ninifp. iK. S Ibid. 101. 



176 LIFE OF SIR VVALTliR RALEGH. 

mind. Yet the Bishop failed in the main object of his con- 
ferences with Ralegh, whom he earnestly desired to cor- 
roborate the confessions of Cobham. He acknowledged 
the distinguished prisoner, indeed, to be, with regard to 
" his conscience, well settled, and resolved to die a Chris- 
tian and a good Protestant ;" but " for the point of confes- 
sion, he found him so straitlaced, that he would yield to no 
part of Cobham's accusation ; only the pension," he said, 
" was once mentioned, but never proceeded in.*" Thus 
nothing more was elicited than that which had already 
transpired. 

Whilst these operations were going on, the mind of 
James I. was agitated by strange alternations of feeling ; a 
desire to preserve his dignity and consistency being coun- 
terbalanced by the vanity of appearing to act the part of 
mercy and forbearance, which was again checked by a se- 
cret dread of the powerful mind and activity of Ralegh, 
whom he had been skilfully instructed by Cecil to regard 
with apprehension ; a lesson which James was, in all in- 
stances, too ready to learn, and in no haste to forget. The 
Lords of the council, with one accord, urged him to show 
mercy, and, in this beginning of his reign, to gain " the 
title of Clemens, as well as of Justus." The Countess of 
Pembroke wrote to her son, conjuring him, as he valued 
her blessing, to employ his own credit, and that of his 
friends, to insure Sir Walter's pardon; and there were 
probably other persons of rank, who secretly felt an inter- 
est in his safety. But there were many individuals about 
the court who took a different course, and one of the King's 
chaplains, Patrick Galloway, disgraced his Christian pro- 
fession by a discourse openly contemning remission of sins 
and mercy as the greatest offences against justice. James, 
in this early period of his reign, displayed, however, on 
this occasion, that jealousy of his prerogative, which arose 
from his consciousness that all his power rested upon the 
opinion of the people, over whom he had so recently as- 
sumed the reins of government.! He resolved, also, to en- 
gross, in his own person, the full credit of the course which 
it was his intention to pursue. Holding himself, therefore, 
" upright between two waters," he took care to inform the 
Lords, that it in no degree became them, as judges, to 

* Sir D. Carletons Letters. t James L Hume, 8vo. vi. 121. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALRGH. 177 

press for a commutation of the sentence, which they liad 
themselves imposed ; hut that they should rather desire the 
execution of just decrees. Having- thus silenced that por- 
tion of the petitioners, the King, with a secret enjoyment 
of the conjectures which he was creating, intimated to all 
persons who presumed to advise him, that he would " move 
not a whit the faster for their driving ;" sometimes pretend- 
ing to lean to one side, sometimes to another, as whim or 
appearances directed.* He signed, however, the warrants 
for the execution of Grey, Cobhani, and Markham, at Wil- 
ton, where the Court then remained ; and these necessary 
documents were sent to the authorities at Winchester, 
two days previous to the morning assigned for the death 
of the prisoners. Until the appointed time, their doom was 
considered as certain, and the whole Court expected to 
hear that the unhappy men had suffered, until nme o'clock 
on the Friday morning, when the King summoned his 
council, and informed them that he had sent a warrant the 
day before to countermand the execution. To this act of 
grace, Cecil, upon " his credit and reputation," declares 
" no soul living to be privy, the messenger excepted," who 
conveyed the royal command to Sir Benjamin Tichborne. 
It was extolled as a " rare and unheard-of act of clemen- 
cy,f" which the most enthusiastic admiration could not 
sufficiently commend. Such were the sentiments of the 
adulatory throng who alternately flattered and satirized 
King James; to our present improved notions of humanity 
and of justice, the whole proceeding seems to have been 
.'irranged with a contrivance of effect almost contemptible, 
and with a disregard of its impression upon the feelings of 
otliers, very nearly amounting to cruelty. 

Whilst the King was receiving at Wilton encomiums 
ujjon his mei'cy, the unhappy prisoners at Winchester were 
still ignorant of the change in their prospects, a change 
which, by giving life, to some gave only a prolongation of 
misery. In pursuance of this sentence, Markham was 
brought to the scaflbld, where "one might see in his face 
the very picture of sorrow,]:" and he much lamented his 
liard fate, in having been deluded with hopes of pardon, 
now, as he thought, proved to be groundless. Yet, with a 

♦ Haidwicke State Papers, i. 377. 

+ Winnood'g Mem. — L»Jttcr of CpcjI, v«I. ii. p 11, J Carleton. 



178 LIFE OF SIR WALTEil RALEGH. 

magnanimity worthy of a better cause, he threw away a 
napkin, given him by some pitying hand, and refused to 
cover his face, saying, that he could look upon death with- 
out blushing. He then took leave of his friends, and pre- 
pared to die, first offermg up his devotions, according to 
his own fashion. Meanwhile the King's messenger, a 
Scottish gentleman, and one of the grooms of the royal 
chamber, stepped forward, and drawing the sherift' on one 
side, the execution was delayed, and Markham left on the 
scaffold to pursue the reflections incident to his awful and 
singular situation. After a short interval, the slieriff re- 
turned, and informed him that he was to have a respite of 
two hours, in order to prepare himself more completely for 
death : he was led into Prince Arthur's hall, in which he 
was locked, and left solitary, in that state of suspense, 
which has justly been considered as the greatest mental 
torture that human nature can endure. 

The Lord Grey was next -conducted to the scaffold. 
This young nobleman had passed the time intervening be- 
tween his sentence and its execution, in the exercise of 
those devotions, the spirit of which had enabled him to 
brave his fate with a magnanimous composure. Upheld, 
like most persons of his persuasion, by a sense of the as- 
cendency of religious hopes over all other considerations, 
Grey manifested a degree of calm unconcern towards this 
close of his mortal career, which might in others have 
been mistaken for callous indifference. It was remarked 
that he neither ate nor drank less, nor slept worse, than he 
was wont to do in happier and less momentous times. It 
must, indeed, have softened the sternest hearts to have 
beheld this last scion of a noble house approach the scaf- 
fold, surrounded by a band of young courtiers, and sup- 
ported on each side by the beloved friends of his youth 
and prosperity. Yet, if this sight were calculated to move 
tlie pity of the beholders, the high bearing of the unfor- 
tunate Grey was certain to receive their admiration, for in 
his countenance there shone a gaiety and spirit which 
might have suited the deportment of a young and happy 
bridegroom. 

Great compassion had been excited, and considerable 
interest exerted for this unfortunate nobleman, and his con- 
duct, both at his trial and his execution, was the more 
admired as contrasted with that of Cobham ; althougli, by 



IJFE OF SrU VVALTRR KALEGH. 179 

some of the obsequious courtiers, liis careless and high 
bearing had been termed pride and obstinacy, in compli- 
ance with the notions in those days prevalent of entire 
and passive obedience.* It was justly thought that he had 
a claim upon the King, from having been formerly engaged 
in the fleet against the Armada ; but this circumstance, in 
the present disposition of James towards Spain, might be 
viewed in an unfavorable light. The Prince Palatine, 
who afterwards married the Princess Elizabeth, had en- 
treated the King, before his departure for Bohemia, to 
spare the life of this young nobleman ; but James, in the 
full dignity of his prerogative, dismissed the request with 
these words, " Son, when I come into Germany, I jjromise 
not to ask you for any of your prisoners.!" When Grey 
ascended the scaffold, he was ignoi-ant of the respite of 
Markham, and probably thought that his fate was inevita- 
ble. Falling upon his knees, lie followed, with great de- 
votion, but in the affected fashion of those of his persua- 
sion, a prayer made for him by one of his attendant priests, 
and added another, which lasted an hour, of his own com- 
position, for the King. When all was_ prepared, he was 
likewise told bj the sheriff' that the order of the execution 
was changed, and that the Lord Cobham was to die before 
him. He was then led also to Prince Arthur's hall in 
a state of astonishment which can scarcely be imagined, 
and which none would wish to experience. Cobham, who 
had by this time summoned a sufficient portion of courage 
to retrieve his former appearance, was now brougjit upon 
the stage, and so outprayed the minister, and over-acted 
his part, that it was coarsely observed, " he had a good 
mouth in a cry, but was nothing single." He occasioned 
some disappointment to many of the spectators, who ex- 
pected considerable diversion from the total deficiency of 
all manly resolution which his character and conduct im- 
plied. He asserted the truth of all that lie had deposed 
against Ralegh, affirming all that he had said of him " upon 
the hope of his soul's resurrection ;" and after acknow- 
ledging his offence, and praying forgiveness of the King, 
prepared to take his farewell, when the sheriff^ again in- 
terposed, and told him that he was to be confronted witli 
some of the prisoners. Grey and Markham were then 

♦ Carleton. t Brydgos, 7.5—79. 



180 Lirn OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

brought back to the scaffold, looking on each other " like 
men beheaded and met again in the next world." To close 
this singular scene, they were required by the sherift' to 
acknowledge the heinousness of their offences, tiie justice 
of their trials and sentences, to which they all assented. 
Then the sheriff desired them to admire the mercy of theii 
prince, who had countermanded their executions, and 
given them their lives, and the streets rang with plaudits 
which reached even from the castle to the town, where it 
was echoed with similar effusions of public joy. But 
happy would it have been for some of these unfortunate 
men, had their existence been terminated on the scaffold 
at Winchester. The gallant and beloved Lord Grey, 
whom even the King allowed to be " a noble spirited 
j'oung fellow,*" languislied, like an imprisoned eagle in 
his cage, and died in the Tower in 1614. He left no heir 
to his estates, which were sold and divided among otiier 
families ; part remaining attached to Wilton castle, part 
being appropriated to Guy's hospital, and a portion, proba- 
bly the greater, falling into the hands of George Villiers, 
Duke of Buckingham, the favorite of King James in after 
times.f The career of Cobham was, to our human com- 
prehension, in strict accordance with that sense of retri- 
butive justice which God has implanted in the mind of 
man. Sacrificing so much for liberty and for wealth, he 
continued a prisoner, and became poor; abandoning and 
vilifying his friend, he was himself abandoned, even to tiio 
lowest destitution, and sunk into infamy, compared to which 
the forgetfulness and neglect of mankind appeared almost 
as mercy. He was confined for many years in the Tower, 
and, it is said, afterwards re-examined at the request of 
the Queen and of Sir Walter Ralegh ; when he entirely 
exonerated Ralegh from the charges which he had been 
the chief instrument of affixing to him. He survived 
Ralegh a few months only, living to see the web which he 
had once woven, again ensnare the gifted and lamented 
victim of his machinations. The days of Cobham were 
ended in a garret in the IMinorics ; a miserable apartment, 
to which there was no access except by a ladder, and be- 
longing to a poor woman who had formerly been his laun- 
dress. Tliis despised, unpitied, and deserted being, died, 



"Carletoii. t BiTflcPB' Extinct Peerage, 75, 



UFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 181 

almost, from want of food.* Such was the termination of 
that life, for which he had sacrificed truth, friendship, and 
reputation. 

Whilst the public mind had been alternately chagrined 
and diverted by the late proceedings, the state of astonish- 
ment and conjecture in which Ralegh learned the progress 
of events, can hardly be conceived. After remaining at 
Winchester castle for a month after his condenmation, it is 
natural to suppose that some hopes of mercy must have 
entered into his calculations of the future, to cheer that 
dark prospect. On the day of the solemn farce which 
James thought proper to permit, Ralegh was stationed at a 
window of his prison, where he could gather that some sin- 
gular revolution in his destiny had taken place ; but the 
meaning of the change was still a matter of wonder, and 
of anxious inquiry, for it was the contrivance of the King, 
that the boon of life should be accorded to the unhappy 
prisoners, at\er a struggle, in which the bitterness of death 
might be fully experienced. But the hopelessness of con- 
firmed imprisonment quickly returned ; and Ralegh, with 
his corripanions in misfortune, was remanded to the Tower 
of London, there to remain during the King's pleasure.f 

It was in this gloomy retirement that Ralegh expe- 
rienced the true benefits of those resources which the 
world cannot taint with the infection of her influence ; do- 
mestic affection was his consolation, philosophy his solace, 
literature his employment. He was re-conducted to his 
prison, under the guard of Sir William Wade, who had 
first escorted him to Winchester. Between this person 
and Cecil, a constant communication existed, the chief sub- 
ject of which appears to liavc been, at this tmie, the condition, 
conduct, and pursuits of the state prisoners under the charge 
of Wade, but especially those suspected of being concerned 
in Watson's conspiracy. We are not, from any documents, 
apprized whether Ralegh entertained any suspicion of 
Wade's fair dealmg towards him ; but it seems probable 
that the natural impetuosity of the unhappy captive's dispo- 
sition prevailed over his patience, so as to render him un- 
just towards his keeper, lor in the course of his imprison- 
ment, the following passage is found relating to him, pre- 

* Osborne's Traditional JFeiiioirs, Kiiip Jamoa I. ed 1701. 
t Hardwicke Papprs. 

Q 



*82 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

served in the Hatfield MSS. in a letter addressed by Wade 

to Cecil : — 

Aup- 17 " ^^ ^otA Treasurer and my Lord of Devon- 

1603 ' ^^^^^ ™^*- ^*- ^'^® Tower on Monday at three of 
the clock in the afternoon, and gave me my 
oath. Though Sir Walter Ralegh used some speech of 
his dislike of me the day before, yet sithence, he doth ac- 
knowledge his error, and seemeth to be very well sat- 
isfied." . 

It is possible that Ralegh may have distrusted the repre- 
sentations wJiich he concluded that Wade would dispatch 
to Cecil ; for about this time, Wade, as it appears from the 
conclusion of a letter in the State Paper Office, addressed 
to Cecil, was pleading for the fulfilment of some promise 
which the late Queen had made to him, relative to some 
advantageous appointment ; and that he earnestly solicited 
the interest of Cecil with the King, to forward this affair. 
It is therefore possible, and perhaps in those days of undis- 
guised corruption, but too probable, that Wade may have 
thought it his interest to appear unfavorably disposed to 
Ralegh in tlie sight of Cecil, and that Ralegh may have 
divined this disposition to censure him on the part of his 
watchful keeper. In the letters from Wade to Cecil, pre- 
served in the State Paper Office, the guilt of Ralegh is 
implied, and an unfavorable construction placed upon every 
circumstance relating to him ; yet, no single circumstance 
is stated which could confirm the accusations against him, 
altliough it is evident that there were the most earnest and 
incessant endeavors to substantiate those charges by any 
heedless expression which might be drawn from him. This 
fact, whilst it strongly argues the innocence of Ralegh, is 
favorable, at the same time, to the integrity of Wade's 
representations, and accounts, perhaps, in some measure, 
for the lenient measures afterwards adopted towards the 
unfortunate prisoner. 

Some society was allowed to Ralegh in the course of the 
first year after his return to the Tower; and he had the 
inestimable comfort, chequered probably by many bitter 
emotions, of receiving his wife, and then only son, within 
the precincts of his melancholy abode. He was allowed, 
also, in common with several other persons, to have access to 
Cobham's apartment ; and several of his own former domes- 
tics, Gilbert Hawthorn, a preacher, two medical attendants, 



LIFE OF SIR WAIiTER RALKGH. 183 

his steward of Sherborn, and one or two other individuals, 
were permitted to repair to him at tlie necessary seasons. 
" The door of his chamber," says Sir William Wade, 
" being always open all the day lonfjf to the garden, which 
indeed is the only garden the lieutenant hath. And 
in the garden he hath converted a little hen-house to a 
still-house, where he doth spend his time all the day in 
distillations.*" Thus engaged, Ralegh made sufficient pro- 
gress in chemistry, to obtain, in those days, a high reputa- 
tion for skill in the compounding of a valuable nostrum, 
called by his contemporaries his cordial, and used by the 
celebrated Robert Boyle with great effect.f A list of the 
chemical processes in which Ralegh thus occupied the 
tedious hours of imprisonment, and, perhaps, succeeded in 
obliterating painful recollections, is still in existence in 
manuscript}: ; and it might probably aflbrd to the chemical 
antiquarian a curious test of the comparative progress of 
knowledge in that branch of philosophy, to which the most 
eminent men of the seventeenth century may be supposed 
to have advanced. 

His first care, on establishing himself within that whicli 
he might reasonably expect to be his final residence, was to 
supply himself with such humble means of prosecuting his 
beloved sciences, as the indulgence of his keepers, or the 
remnant of his own ruined fortunes, would allow him to ob- 
tain. It may afford both instruction and encouragement to the 
humble and destitute laborer in the pursuit of knowledge, 
to learn, with what scanty materials and limited space the 
great Ralegh prosecuted tlie studies commenced in happier 
days. 

It has been lamented by an ingenious biographer of Ra- 
legh, that the anecdotes of his hours of confinement are 
few, and that period comparatively involved in a tantaliz- 
ing obscurity. 5 Successive investigations have contributed 
but little to remedy this cause of regret ; but, in the State 
Paper Office, a very interesting document remains, en- 
dorsed in Cecil's liand-writing, entitled " The Judgment of 
Sir Walter Ralegh's Case." This appears to have been a 

* Dircli's Collpctions in Urit. Miipeum, cx.xi. 4160. 
t Aubreys MSS. Stc O.xford edition of Ralegh's Works, 1829. Ap- 
pi'iidlx, vol. viii. 
J Ayticoiigli's Cat. Brit. Mus. 4r'.'. § Cayley, ii. 38. 



184 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

memorial addressed to the great man in power, in favor of 
the unhappy prisoner, and conveys such an impression of 
his bodily sufferings as ma}% it is to be hoped, have moved 
the heart of the prosperous minister.* From this account 
it seems that Ralegli was afflicted either with rheumatism 
or with the dire effects of incipient palsy, having been 
seized on the left side with an extreme coldness and numb- 
ness, and his speech impeded so tliat an utter loss of it was 
apprehended by his medical attendants. It was, therefore, 
recommended by Dr. Turner, one of his ordinary physi- 
cians, tliat Sir Walter should be removed -from the cold 
apartment which he had hitherto occupied into a warmer 
apartment, that which lie had built adjoining the Still 
House being particularly specified as proper for his condi- 
tion and comforts.f Thrs letter, to which no date is affixed, 
may be assigned, in all probability, to the year 1604 or 
1G05. No memorial has transpired to show if the indul- 
gence requested were granted. On the contrary, but lit- 
tle favor appears to have been shown to Ralegh during the 
two or throe first years of his imprisonment. By a letter 
recently discovered,! ^"^^ addressed by him to the King, it 
is obvious that his feelings were insulted, his reputation 
injured, and his comforts abridged, in many grievous in- 
stances. The seal of the duchy of Cornwall was demanded 
of him, which, in compliance witli the King's command, he 
resigned, giving it into the hands of I^ord Cecil to restore 
it to the sovereign. 5 But, whilst surrendering the pledge 
of his high employments, Ralegh failed not to remind his 
Majesty that it was by the favor of his predecessor Queen 
Elizabeth that he had been authorized to assume the im- 
portant offices which he held as Chancellor of the Duchy, 
and Warden of the Stannaries. He declared, in solemn 
terms, his faith to James, and his dependence on his mercy 
alone. Unhappily, he addressed himself to one too much 
alienated from him, and too greatly prejudiced by tlie in- 
sinuations of others, to listen to his petition with any emo- 
tions of compassion. Yet, whilst at this distance of time 
some passages of this letter are perused, it is difficult to 
imagine, that James can have rejected, without some re- 

* The original is printed now, for the first time, in the Appendix, 
t Appandix, L. & M. 

I Also in th" Stnt'; Pajwr Office, and now first printed in the Appen- 
dix, (). 



LIFE OF BIR WALTER RALEGH. 185 

lenting, the petition of so accomplished a petitioner, who, 
whilst feeling that his corporeal and mental vigor declined 
under the pressure of his calamities, entreated the King 
not to keep him in restraint until " the powers both of his 
body and mind should be so enfeebled," that " it had been 
happier for him to have died long since." With a humil- 
ity resulting from a spirit broken by the virulence of ene- 
mies, and by the desertion of friends, he implored the King 
to have compassion on him whilst he had yet " limbs and 
eyes" to do him service, entreating the " Lord of all power 
and justice to strike him with the greater misery of body 
and soul" if he failed in fidelity to his sovereign. Such 
were the affecting, and, perhaps, abject terms in which the 
unfortunate Ralegh endeavored to obtain the boon of a ces- 
sation from persecution. The powerful expressions of his 
own pen portray, with a melancholy force, the dejection 
and dread into which he sank upon seeing the renewed at- 
tempts which were made to ruin his earthly prospects. 

On finding all applications for mercy fruitless, Ralegh 
appears to have wisely devoted himself to those .sources of 
consolation, of which the injustice of men could not de- 
prive him. The extent of his acquirements in literature 
and science furnished him with a fund of constant employ- 
ment, in his graver hours, the appetite for knowledge, hap- 
pily for human nature, " growing by what it feeds on." He 
had the advantage also of being able to vary his pursuits 
from grave to gay, and of being able to relax into amuse- 
ment without the necessity of descending into frivolity. 
But of his favorite recreations, music and painting were prob- 
ably the only resources which could be introduced into the 
bounded and austere inclosure of his prison limits.* The cul- 
tivation of plants, and the arrangement of a garden, in which 
he delighted and excelled, was precluded, or, at least, its pride 
and pleasure were at an end ; for who can cherish the soil 
with which slavery is associated 1 Of the enjoyments of so- 
ciety he could taste but a very moderate portion, and even that 
small portion would necessarily be alloyed by the absence 
of comforts, by the contrast with former days, by the dread 

* Sir Walter Ralegh was not the only member of his family who was 
distinguished for his musical talents. His brother Carew played upon the 
olpharion, an instrument somewhat resembling a lute, and sang also 
well. Aubrey's MS-S. in the Ashmolcan Museum, Oxford edition of Ra- 
rgh's Works, vol. viii. p. 743. 

Q2 



186 MFK 01" SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

of surveillance, and the dang'er of unrestrained communi- 
cation withii;! a prison. But, alUiough, from the happiness 
of the free, Ralegh was precluded, he could yet avail him- 
self of the consolations of which innocence is never desti- 

Ifif)*^ tute. Soon after the commencement of his long 
captivity his wife and son were permitted to join 

, r.r^ him, and in the ensuing year the birth of another 
son added a new member to the small and oppressed 
family. This child was christened Carew, probably in honor 
of J^rd Carew, a relation and intimate friend of Ralegh's, 
and afterwards an intercessor for him with the King ; Ca- 
rew was the only one of Sir Walter's two sons that was 
destined to survive him. The works which Ralegh began, 
and in some instances completed, were numerous, and of 
the most varied kind : of these, the most elaborate and re- 
markable is his History of the World, which he published 
in 1614. Of this stupendous production, whilst it has been 
observed by some that its " only defect (or defeult rather) 
is that it wanteth the half thereof* ;" it has been thought by 
a far better judgef " to atibrd the best model of the ancient 
style" of composition. Never, perhaps, in our language has 
so copious and extended a work been composed with so little 
apparent difficulty to the author ; and, whilst the learned 
have been excited to admiration by the vast stores of eru- 
dition which its pages unfold, the less enlightened reader 
cannot fail to rise from the caroful perusal of its pages 
without his knowledge of human nature bemg improved 
and verified, and his desire for virtuous distinction stimu- 
lated. It contributes greatly to the interest of this compo- 
sition, that the writer has identified himself with many of 
its most striking passages, in the course of its ponderous 
dissertations and minute details. We refer continually to 
the historian, whose opinions, his personal observation, his 
experience, and tastes, were called into active requisition 
in the compilation of its pages. Ralegh, in relating the ac- 
tions of the warlike and the exertions of the wise, writes 
with the spirit of an enthusiast in the cause of virtue, and 
with the discrimination of a veteran in the fields of fame. 
Neither is his generous ardor chilled by the cold and scep- 
tical views of religion with which some excellent authors, 
under the plea of philosophical moderation, have cooled 

♦ Fuller's Worthies. t Hume. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 187 

down the expression of every noble sjentiment. He gives 
nature her scope, and aims not at the fruitless task of 
weighing the utility of every splendid action by the men- 
tal scale which has been adopted in modern times. It is 
still more important to observe, that his proper appreciation 
of the actions of men, and his love of moral excellence, 
sprang from the right source. It is obvious that he must 
have been deeply imbued with the force and importance of 
religious truth, and, in the progress of his labors, had God 
in all his thoughts. J^or this happy and truly enviable state 
of mind, for that elevation of the character which proceeds 
from a prostration of the soul to God, for that strength 
whicii arises out of weakness, Ralegh was indebted to the 
season of adversity which aftbrded him the opportunity, and 
impressed him with the proper spirit to execute this work. 
Lord Bacon, in alluding to the dangerous gifts of fortune, 
has beautifully remarked, that " afflictions only level those 
mole-hills of pride, plow the heart, and make it fit for 
wisdom to sow the seed, and for grace to bring forth her 
increase. Happy is that man, both in regard of heavenly 
and earthly wisdom, that is thus wounded to be cured ; thus 
broken to be made straight ; thus made acquainted with his 
own imperfections, that he may be perfected.*" 

Like many other works of value and erudition, the His- 
tory of the World was, according to some accounts, ne- 
glected by the literary men of the time. Perhaps the dis- 
grace and present obscurity of its author, tlie neglect of 
the court, or its own bulk, and in the early part, the diffi- 
culty of treating the subject in a popular manner, may have 
contributed to the result, which is said to have proved a 
source of deep mortification to Ralegh. A few days be- 
fore his death, he is stated to have sent for Walter Burre, 
who printed his book, and to liave inquired how the work 
had sold J To this question he received the mortifying re- 
ply, "So slowly, that it has undone me." Upon hearing tliis 
intelligence. Sir Walter rose, and reaching from his desk a 
continuation of tiic work, threw it into the fire, saying to 
Burre, " The second volume shall undo no more : this un- 
grateful world is unworthy of it" This anecdote, although 
characteristic of Sir Walter Ralegh, wlio was naturally 
passionate and impetuous, rests upon no authority sufficient 

* Bacon's Letter to Coke in Stephen's edition of Bacon's Letters, 127. 



1-88 MFE OF SFR WALTER RAI.EGH. 

to stamp it as more deserving- of credit than the relations 
which are commonly told of all eminent persons, and for 
the trutli of which we are to rely on the particular veracity 
of tlie narrator. 

In his scientific and literary pursuits Ralegh found a 
young and liberal patron in Prince Henry of Wales, the 
heir apparent to the throne. The virtues of tliis youth 
were universally extolled, and, perhaps, witii greater 
earnestness, fron) the contrast which every indication of 
character presented to that of his well-intentioned but 
almost pusillanimous father. It was, however, the desire 
of James that his first-born should, in all important respects, 
resemble himself, and especially in that instinctive appre- 
hension of plots, of which James especially boasted. In 
such discoveries, he prayed that the Prince " might be his 
heir;" and particularly commended any detection of impos- 
ture wiiicii it was the lot of the youth to effect.* 

But daily experience proves that there are some minds 
which rise not only superior to the force of circumstances, 
but almost in defiance of perpetual incitement to error. 
Witnessing in one parent perpetual manifestations of ab- 
surdity, and beholding in the other nothing but insignifi- 
cance, it was the happy lot of Prince Henry, as far as his 
short litfe extended, to unite the best, or, the only good quali- 
ties of both parents. To the love of learning, and simple- 
heartedness of King James, he joined the courtesy and 
good-nature of Queen Anne, escaping, as it were by a 
miracle, the pompous vanity of the one, and the unthinking 
frivolity of the other parent.f Towards this young prince, 
justly denominated by his contemporaries, " the flower of 
his house,|" Ralegh expressed an enthusiastic admiration : 
and, indeed, the mind of Henry Stuart appears in many 
instances to have been congenial to that of the illustrious 
prisoner, to whom he extended his favor. Unlike the King 

* Bircli'g Life of Prince Henry. In James's instructions to his son, he 
particularly commeniis his discovery of a female impostor. Ihid. :i8. 

t This qneen was mistress of Somerset House, which she would fain 
have named Denmark House, and so it was called by her people during 
lier life. In this palace she held a continual masquerade. She and her 
ladies, like so many sea-nymphs or nereids, continually delightinf; all 
beholders by the display of new dresses. The King had iiis favorites in 
one place, she in another: she loved the Karl of Pembroke, he patron- 
ized the Earl of Montgomery, his brother. Wilson's Life of King James 
I. 685. 

tWinwood's Mem. iii. 410. 



LIFE OF SIR VVALTlill KALKGH. 189 

his father, the prince loved the semblance and mimicry of 
war ; and from his deligiit in tiltinjj, the barriers, and other 
martial exercises, he had become hit^hly popular among tlic 
people,* to whom such diversions recalled the days of the 
Tudors and Plantagenets. With sucli a disposition, it is 
natural to suppose that the yoimg' candidate in the lists of 
military fame must have regarded the veteran warrior with 
veneration and interest. 

In respect to maritime affairs, especially, their tastes 
were similar ; for Ralegh, who perfectly understood this 
subject, found in the prince an ardent spirit of inquiry, 
which augured well for the future benefit of the British 
navy.f To him Ralegh dedicated his work, entitled " Ob- 
servations on the Royal Navy and Sea Service," and a 
" Discourse of a Maritimal Voyage," never published. • It 
was also his intention to have dedicated to his young pa- 
tron the second and third volumes of his History of the 
World, which he purposed, as he himself expresses it, to 
" have hewn out," but which, from the death of this pow- 
erful friend, from the discouraging circumstances attending 
the sale of the first part, or from new schemes, and the 
revival of hopes of liberty, was never completed. The 
prince, to whom Ralegii applied the epithets " most excel- 
lent and hopeful,!" was a proficient also in classical litera- 
ture, in which he had been carefully trained; and had 
himself displayed so premature a genius, as to compose, 
when only in his tenth year, a Latin hexameter poem, en- 
titled the " New Year's Gift.^" Concurring in their gene- 
ral tastes, widely as all other circumstances relating to 
them differed, the Prince and Ralegh were also, in one re- 
spect, similarly situated : they were both supposed to be 
objects of jealous suspicion to the King, who is said to have 
thought his " fearless and noble" son|l " too high mounted 
in the people's love,H" whilst he saw in Ralegh a great 
luminary, beneath whose lustre the brightness of other 
lights must fade, or be wholly obscured. Congenial in 
mind and in pursuits, a grateful and enthusiastic admira- 
tion prevailed between those two individuals. That " none 

* Wilson, V. 685. 

t Birch'B Life of Prince Henry, 297. See also Ralegh's Works in 
Birch, vol. ii. 
I Birch. § Ibid. 38. || AulicusCoquinaritc. IT Wilson, 085. 



190 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

but his father would keep such a bird in such a cage*" 
was the well-known observation of Prince Henry ; and 
Ralegh, after the untimely death of this promising youth, 
alludes to the decease of his royal friend in terms of sor- 
row almost prophetic. Speaking of one of his own works, 
he says, " But God has spared me the labor of finishing by 
his loss, by the loss of that brave prince, of which, like an 
eclipse of the sun, we shall feel the effects hereafter. Im- 
possible it is to equal words and sorrows ; I will, therefore, 
leave him in the hands of God that hath him.t" 

At the command of Prince Henry, Ralegh composed, in 
1611, two discourses, concerning the double alliances which 
were proposed between the duchy of Savoy and the house 
of Stuart. In those treatises, which are written in the 
clear, forcible, and animated style which characterizes 
Ralegh's pen, he proves the unsuitableness and inexpe- 
diency of the proposed marriages, and recommends the con- 
tinuance of the Prince in celibacy, until " his Majesty 
have somewhat repaired his estate, and provided beautiful 
gardens to plant those olive-branches in.|." In this coun- 
sel the inclination of the Prince was probably considered ; 
for report not only assigned the honor of his regards to the 
infamous Frances Howard, Countess*t)f Essex, but his own 
testimony presented the reasons of his dislike to the Sa- 
voyan contract. 5 Induced by arguments to approve of the 
marriage with a daughter of France, this conscientious 
youth, the only prince of the Stuart line who could be 
strictly termed Protestant, repented bitterly on his death-bed 
that he had ever been induced to accede to the proposals 
of wedding a Papist, and considered his illness as a judg- 
ment on that account. II Yet as we may suppose that the 
sentiments expressed by Ralegh in his work tallied with 
those of the Prince, it was obviously their agreed conclu- 
sion, that no other foreign marriage presented advantages 
so powerfully overbalancing the impediment which differ- 
ence of religious faith presented, as that with Henrietta 
Maria of France, subsequently the queen-consort of Charles 
the First. IT 

* Osborne's Miscell. Works, ii. 165. f Hist. World, lib. v. c. 1. § 6. 

t Works of Rnlegh. Birrli, i. 278. 

§Welwood's Notes to Wilson, 688. 

ji Winwooirs Mem. iii. 410. V Ralegh's Works. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 191 

It is probable that Ralee^h owed his station in tlie regard 
of the young- prince chiefly to the good offices of Sir John 
Harrington, wlio acted almost in the capacity of a tutor to 
the lieir-apparent. It is not unlikely that he was also in- 
debted for the kindly feelings displayed to him by Henry, 
to his mother, Anne of Denmark, the (jueen-consort, a 
weak but good-natured woman, and an indifferent, and, as 
some thought, faithless wife, but an affectionate, though 
not judicious mother. From this princess Ralegh is said to 
have eventually received the dearest boon that an innocent 
man can crave, that of restored reputation, the Queen 
granting him, at a subsequent period, the privilege of hav- 
ing Cobham re-examined. She proved to him, indeed, on 
various occasions, a kind mediator and friend ; and Ralegh, 
as we shall find, had recourse, on some occasions, to her 
good offices. 

But his fortunes, as far as his worldly estates were con- 
cerned, were now irremediably ruined ; and the wreck of 
all his dearly-earned possessions was eventually completed 
by the injustice of King James, and the cupidity of his 
courtiers. 



CHAP. VI. 



Estimate of Ralegh's Prop(;rty. — His estates and occupations in Irelnml. 
— Ralegh's Companions in Prison. — His schemes with respect toGni- 
ana.— Death of Cecil and of Prince Henry. — Ralegh's release from 
the Tower. 

In order fully to comprehend the losses and deprivations 
which it was Ralegh's fate to sustain, it is necessary to 
take a short review of those various gradations in the scale 
of w^ealth, by which he rose to the possession of a consid- 
erable estate. 

His property in Ireland, by order of time, ought first 
to be noticed. The history of his possessions in that coun- 
try must be referred to the period of the rebellion in the 
reign of Elizabeth, who found it expedient, in 1582, to at- 
taint Gerald Fitzgerald, the last Earl of the Geraldines, a 
man of almost princely power over the semi-barbarous 
people amongst whom he resided. This potent nobleman 
could iTuii-ter, it wris said, at a call, .six liuiidrecl horse and 



192 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

two thousand foot, and liad live hundred gentlemen of liis 
kindred and surname on liis estate. Upon his destruction, 
and that of his adherents, the Queen divided his extensive 
possessions in Cork, Waterford, Kerry, and Limerick, 
among those officers and knights in lier armies wlio had 
been chiefly engaged in subduing the power of her ene- 
mies in the sisfer countries. The forfeited lands were di- 
vided, therefore, into manors and seignories, containing 
each from four to twelve tliousand acres, bogs and moun- 
tains not being included until improved and fertilized. 
The undertakers, as they were called, of these estates, 
were freed of all taxes, except subsidies levied by parlia- 
ment, and were to import all commodities into England, 
duty fi'ee, for five years. They were obliged to furnish, 
for the defence of their new possessions, horse and foot- 
men, in number proportioned to their share of the forfeited 
demesnes; an arrangement by which an eftective force 
was afterwards supplied to the country. In 1586, Sir Wal- 
ter Ralegh obtained a warrant from the Privy Seal, grant- 
ing him three seignories and a half in the land of Cork* 
and Waterford, constituting an Cvstate of 12,000 acres. f 
This domain he held in fee-farm, and with it, at Youghal, 
in the barony of Imohilly, a house belonging, before the 
dissolution of the monasteries, to the friars preachers, with 
a rent of twelve pounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence 
sterling, payable at Easter and Michaclmas.| 

It would seem that Ralegh had but little, leisure to enter 
into tlie concerns of his Irish estates with interest, or that, 
in the turbulent scenes in which he was mingled in that 
countrjr, he could have enjoyed sufficient leisure to attend 
to the improvement of the inhabitants or the culture of the 
soil. From the manuscript records of the town, it appears 
that he held the office of mayor of Youghal in 1588,j and 
he probably occupied the house belonging to him near the 
cottage or jjriory, for one room still bears the traditional 
name of " Sir Walter's Study," having in it a rich and cu- 

* Smith's Hist. Cork, i. 55, 56. t Ibid. 54. t Ibid. 109. . 

§ For this iiifonu.ition I am indebted to Crofton Croker, Esq., whose 
works oil Irish traditions and antiquaries are so well known, and so 
justly admired. That pcnlleman inspected these records in 18-21, and 
visited the house formerly beloiiRinc; to Rnlegh, and now inhabited by 
Sir Christopher Musgrave. It is a plain old-fashioned house, with an 
ahnndanre of fine myrtles, some of them twenty feet high, in the 
garden. 



• t.lFK Oi' .Slit WAI,Ti:!t KAIJ'.CiH 198 

rioasly-carved old clumney-piece. Tliis residence is situ- 
iited on the north side of tlio church, and on the south side 
stands a large building, called the College, founded by the 
Geraldines, and which came also into Ralegh's posses- 
sions. 

At Youglial the first potatoes were landed in Ireland 
from Virginia,*' by Sir Walter Ralegh ; and, at the same 
time, the celebrated aftane cherry was brought by him 
there from the Canary islands. The well-known tale of 
the. potatoa-apple being at first gathered and tasted by tho 
person who planted it, and of the early neglect of this val- 
uable production, originated in the neighborhood of You- 
ghal. The roots were for some time left untouched, until 
ilic ground in which they wore sown, being dug up, their 
real value was discovered. From this small portion of seed, 
the whole country of Ireland was supplied with that, 
which has since proved to be almost its only secure re- 
aource as a commodity for the support of life.f 

In 1602 Ralegh was induced to sell his estates in Ireland 
to Richai^ Boyle, afterwards Earl of Cork, a man of ener- 
getic habits and of jwwerful understanding, and who knew 
well both how to contrive an excellent bargain for his own 
interests, and to turn every possession to full account. 
This enterprising founder of a family, afterwards so greatly 
renowned both in arms and letters, returned to England, 
his native country, with an introduction to Sir Robert 
Cecil from the president of Munster, who requested the 
assistance of the secretary to Mr. Boyle in eflecting the 
purchase of Sir Walter Ralegh's seignory in Cork. Ra- 
legh, it is said, had no repugnance to the sale of his prop- 
erty, on account of the heavy sums which it cost him to 
support his titles to it, his annual expenses on that accomit 
amounting to two hundred pounds.;]: It appears, however, 
that Mr. Boyle purchased the estate at a very low rate, 
upori the plea of its uncultivated condition ; and that it not 
only became a most advantageous acquisition to him even- 
tually, but was considered by him at the time as a great 
and fortunate augmentation to his estate, and as one more 
profitable to him even than the possession of a richly-dow- 

* Potatoes came oriijinally from Mexico, whence they had probably 
been introduced into Virginia. 
t Smith's Hist. Cork, p. 1— tfO. 
I Nnts in Biof^raphia, Mrs! Art. Boyla. 

R _ 



194 MFli OF SIR VVA[.TRR lUF-EOH. 

ered wife, or of a former g^rant to himself of lands in Mun- 
ster, had hitherto proved.* 

It has likewise been manifested, 'in a recent work on the 
antiquities of the i5outh of Ireland, that the " great earl," 
as he was popularly entitled, acted a very equivocal part 
in this transaction, and succeeded in duping the penetrat- 
ing, but rash owner of the lands, who had parted with 
them at a price far inferior to their value.f It is obvious, 
from the tenor of the earl's own memorial, that he thought 
it necessary to write in an apologetical strain upon tlie 
subject ;| for he declares, that lie not only paid Sir Walter 
the full amount of what he owed him for his estate, long 
before Ralegh's attainder, but that he presented him witli 
a thousand pounds after tliat event ; preferrino;, from com- 
passion and generosity, to give him that sum in full, than 
to accept of a composition of five hundred marks from the 
crown, with an offer of a full acquittal under the broad 
seal, if he complied with that proposition.^ This is the 
earl's own exposition of his conduct ; but it has been hint- 
ed, that his conduct was not so honorable as this fepresent- 
ation would seem to imply; and some remonstrance ap- 
pears to have been made, in subsequent times, against the 
transaction, as irregular and illegal. It was not, however, 
a time, for those suffering from adversity and oppression, 
to appeal with success against the favored and the pros- 
perous. The estate remained in tiie possession of Boyle, 
by whom it was soon rendered one of the most flourishing 
properties in the sister kingdom. 

With respect to his English domains, Ralegh was even 
still more unfortunate than in his Irish property ; for ho 
had the distress of seeing those lands which he had im- 
proved and embellished with care, and had hoped to trans- 
mit, as a family inheritance, to his son, wrested from him, 
and bestowed upon an unworthy favorite of the king's, in 
defiance of every principle of justice, and in disregard of 
every impulse of compassion. 

We have already seen that Ralegh was unable to effect 
the purchase of the simple and retired residence of his 
youth, for which he applied in 1584, offering to give the 

* See Mr. C. Croker's Researches in the South of Ireland, 1824. 

t Ibid. t Smithes Hist, of Corlt, note^ i. 121. 

5 Smith's Cork, vol. i. p. 121. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 195 

owner " whatsoever in his conscience he should deem it to 
be worth ;" preferring, as he alleged, for the " natural dis- 
position" which he had to that place, being born in the 
house, rather " to seat himself there than anywhere else.*" 
In case of refusal on this point, it was at this time Sir 
Walter's determination- to build a house at Colliton in 
Devonshire ; but circumstances afterwards induced him to 
select, as a family residence, Sherborne or Shireborne, in 
the same county, described by Aubrey as " a most sweet 
and pleasant place, and site, as any in the west." From 
this estate alone, he afterwards cleared five thousand 
pounds yearly. 

A curious manuscript, relating to this noble seat, has 
been preserved and published in the Collectanea Curiosa. 
The lands of Sherborne were bequeathed by Osmund, a 
Norman knight, to the see of Canterbury, with a heavy de- 
nunciation against any rash or profane person who should 
attempt to wrest them from the church.f Tliis anathema 
was, in the opinion of the vulgar, first accomplished in the 
person of the protector Somerset, to whom, after sundry 
vicissitudes, the property devolved. This nobleman was 
hunting in the woods of Sherborne, when his presence was 
required by Edward the Sixth ; and he was shortly after- 
wards committed to the Tower, and subsequently beheaded. 
The forfeited estate then reverted to the see of Salisbury, 
until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to whom it was made 
over by Coldwell, bishop of Salisbyry, at the instigation of 
Ralegh, who was blamed, and apparently with justice, for 
having displayed on this occasion a grasping and even dis- 
honorable spirit. So strong were the religious prejudices 
of the day, that even the discerning Sir John Harrington 
attributed to a judgment from heaven a trifling accident 
which occurred to Ralegh whilst surveying the demesne 
which he coveted. Casting his eyes upon it, according to 
the notion of that writer, as Ahab did upon Naboth's vine- 
yard, and, in the course of a journey from Plymouth to the 
coast, discussing at the same time the advantages of the 
desired possession, Sir Walter's horse fell, and the face of 
its rider then, as the relater observes, " thought to be a 
very good one," was buried in the ground.J Having ob- 



* See .Vibrey"s M3S. f Pecks Collectanea, 520. 

) niipf View of thfl Stutc nitli" CliMrrh of England, p. 88. ^ 



196 LIFE OF SIR WALTER KALEOII. 

tained the estate, Ralegh resolved to improve and embel- 
lish it to the utmost of his means. He first begrui to build 
a fine castle ; but, changing his design, erected a noble 
house, which he rendered superior to all the places around 
it. Here he appears, from his letters, to have both exer- 
cised the duties of hospitality, and to have enjoyetl the so- 
ciety of his friends in a public career, although at so great 
a distance from the metropolis ;* and here he anticipated 
also the calm refreshment of pliilosophic leisui'e ; " build- 
ing," says Aubrey, " a delicate lodge in the parke of brick, 
not big, but very convenient for the bignesse, a place to 
retire from the court in summer time, and to contemplate.f" 
But he was destined never to enjoy the fruition of his 
wishes, in seeing his name and family reinstated in rank 
and influence in his native country. In 1662 he had tbund 
it expedient to settle Sherborne upon his eldest son. The 
supposed cause of this determination was a challenge from 
Sir Amias Preston, one of the commanders who had been 
knighted by the Earl of Essex at the siege of Cadiz ; but 
neither the origin nor tlie issue of the quarrel has trans- 
I)ired. All that is known of Ralegh's sentiments upon the 
occasion, is, his declaration that he " inlended to answer" 
the challenge. Yet it is uncertain whether or not he de- 
clined it; the difference of military rank and character 
being a sufficient plea for deviating from the received laws 
of honor, and the fashionable practice of the times. It may 
be surmised that Ralegh had high and important reasons 
and obligations to pursue a line of conduct which mani- 
fested the true and delicate perception of that honor, on 
which so many are ready to discourse, and which so few 
are able to understand ; and that he may have sought to 
discountenance a custom then so prevalent, that I^ord Ba- 
con, when Attorney-General, was obliged, in 1614, to make 
an example of a butcher and a barber-surgeon in the Mar- 
shalsea Court, in order that this dangerous and disgraceful 
practice might be brought into contempt.]; It is obvious 
that Ralegh viewed the character of a duellist with the 
cool and wpll-digestod sentiments of a philosopher, rather 
than with, the inflated enthusiasm of a soldier. In his His- 



* Spo his Lnltw to Colihnin, in Appendix. 

t .Aubrey's Mi?S. Oxf. 'd of flnl. Work-., .Itip, 738. 

J Sand.M.'OM!" r.ifo of J.-vuvs 1 . \y .MPj. 



UVE Ul' Sill VVAL'l'lill IIALEGH. 197 

tory, he ridicules the false notions which teach us to con- 
sider it " as a far greater dishonor to receive from an enemy 
a slig-ht touch with a cane, than a sound blow with a 
sword ; the one having relation to a slave, the other to a 
souldier." And concerning the received belief that to decry 
duelling, and to be a coward, are synonymous, he remarks 
that it is true, " if you call it cowardice to fear God and 
hell ; whereas he that is truly wise or valiant knows that 
there is nothing else to be feared.*" Such being the sen- 
timents of Ralegh, we must look for some different cause 
than the prospect of a duel, to account for his transfer of 
his principal estate to his son ; and it is not difficult to con- 
jecture that he may have anticipated the vicissitudes of his 
coming years, and sought to preserve this portion of his 
property from the effects of the lowering storm. 

This measure, if the result of forethought, was prudent, 
but it was unavailing. Afler his trial, the enemies of Ra- 
legh pretended to find a flaw in the deed of conveyance, 
and for the omission of a single word, the oversight of a 
clerk, and which was in the paper copy only, it fell into 
tlie possession of the crown.f The person principally bene- 
fited by this discovery was Car, Earl of Somerset, who 
brought the matter before th» Court of Exchequer, in 
which a decision was given against Ralegh}: : " a judg- 
ment," observes the relater of the fact,^ " easily to be fore- 
seen without witchcraft, since his chiefest judge was his 
greatest enemy, and the case argued between a poor friend- 
less prisoner, and a King of England." This event took 
place seven years after the commencement of Sir Walter 
Ralegh's imprisonment, until which period he had enjoyed 
the revenues of Sherborne. In vain did the persevering 
Lady Ralegh, — being, as her son describes her, a woman ' 
" of a very high spirit, of noble birth and breeding," — on 
her knees, and in the bitterness of her heart, in the pres- 
ence of the King, implore Almighty God to look upon " the 
justness of her cause, and punish those who had so wrong- 
fully exposed her and her poor children to beggary." The 
inflexible and insensible monarch, who had neither the 

* Hist. World, b. 5. chap. 3. p. 677. 
t A Brief Relation of Sir Walter Ralegh's Troubles, 117. 
I OUiys. 64. 

§ farew Rak^gli, who presenled, in the form of a petition to parliament, 
fohic account of tliis act of ojipression. ?ce Birch, i. p. 114. 

R2 



1U8 LIFE OF SIR WALiTER RALEGH. 

feeling to pity, iior the discernment to value this devoted 
womfan, returned, in his usual phrase, this reiterated reply, 
" I rnun have the land; I mun have it for Car." And, ac- 
cordingly, to Car the estate was conveyed. But the old 
prophecy, by those who observed the fate of Sherborne 
with curiosity, was still thought to hang to its destiny. 
Through the generous exertions of Prince Henrv, it may 
be said to have belonged for a time to the House oi Stuart, 
since he begged it from tlie King, pretending to fancy the 
place, but in reality with the hope of restoring it to the 
accomplished owner of the seat. Unwilling or afraid to 
refuse the request of his son, James compromised the mat- 
ter by paying to Car the sum of twenty-five thousand 
pounds for the surrender of the estate, and even allowed 
the Lady Ralegh eight thousand pounds for the property.* 
But the death of the young Prince In 1611 frustrated his 
generous intention, and left Sherborne still in the hands of 
the favorite. The premature decease of this promising 
youtli was thought by the vulgar again to corroborate the 
old prophecy, and was one of those singular coincidences 
which, in human affairs, confirm the day-dreams of super- 
stitious reasoners. But, in the times of the Tudors and 
the Stuarts, estates were tf often gained and lost, on the 
one hand by the misfortunes of the real owners, and, on 
the other, by the iniquities of those who reaped them, that 
few exchanges of property from one family to another, took 
place without being occasioned by some tragical occur- 
rence. To Carew, the youngest son, and the injured sur- 
vivor of Sir Walter Ralegh, the subsequent attainder of 
Car, and the forfeiture of his estates, upon his committal to 
the Tower for the murder of Overbury, appeared to con- 
firm the ill fortune attendant upon the owners of Sher- 
borne; and the misfortunes which afterwards befell the 
House of Stuart were also considered by him to corrobo- 
rate the old presage. The spell has, however, since been 
broken ; for, on the confiscation of Car's estates, Digby, 
Earl of Bristol, obtained Sherborne from the King, on ac- 
count of his services in the embassy to Spain. This noble- 
man added two wings to the house; and in his family it 
now remains.! 
During the proceedings relative to his favorite and 

* Brief Krl.'*.;. t IWd. 1J7 



LIFE OK SIR WALTICR KAI.EGJI. 1^9 

boasted residence, upon which he had expended a consid- 
erable portion of his gleanings in the public service, Ralegh 
endeavored to avail himself of his eloquent pen in order to 
excite the pity or obtain the justice of those who were 
reaping the fruits of his self-created fortune. Fame, which, 
as Lord Bacon has observed, "hath swift wings, especially 
that which hath black feathers,*" soon brought to him, 
even in prison, intelligence of all those courtly intrigues, 
by which his miserable fate might be alleviated or de- 
pressed. In 1608, we find him addressing to Car an expos- 
tulatory letter, couched in those guarded and insidious, yet 
moving terms, of which many of Ralegh's epistles present 
a specimen. Perhaps there can scarcely be any supplica- 
tion more delicately and happily expressed than the fol- 
lowing natural yet polished address to a young and favored 
courtier, just enteriag upon those deluding delights of suc- 
cessfuf ambition and gratified vanity, of which Ralegh had 
himself shared largely. " And for yourself, sir," he observes, 
" seeing your fair day is but now in the dawn, and mine 
drawn to the evening, your own virtues and the King's 
grace assuring you of many honors, I beseech you not to 
begin your first building upon the ruins of the innocent ; . 
and that their sorrows, with mine, may not attend your 
first plantation.!" ^ut Ralegh, in his application to Car, 
appealed not to a generous, and honorable, young favorite 
of fortune, like Essex, who would rather have impoverished 
himself than "have cut down the tree for the fruit, and un- 
dergone the curse of them that enter the fields of the 
fatherless.!" Somerset Was, from his early nurture in a 
subordinate station, weak and pliable, and incapable of 
greatness, although originally, until ensnared by the al- 
lurements of a depraved woman, of a gentle and affable 
disposition.^ Besides, there were other sufficient reasons 
that Somerset should not incline to the requests of one 
who enjoyed the friendship of Prince Henry ; a bitter jeal- 
ousy both of the King's favor, and a still more dangerous 
rivalry in the affections of the Lady Frances Howard, at 
this time subsisting between those two distinguished per- 
sonages. || 

In regard to the residue of his property, Ralegh was 

* Bacon's Letters by Stephens, 90. \ 

t Ralegh's Lettci to Car, in Cayley, vol. ii. 13. J Ibid. vol. ii. 40. 

§ Wilson. TOO. !|Ihid. 686. 



200 LIFE OF t=lR WALTER RALEGH. 

scarcely less unfortunate than with respect to Sherborne. 
The extent of any other estates which he possessed has not 
been ascertained. Some proofs remain of his having been 
the owner of a house at Islington, near the church, which 
was stated by tradition to have belonged to Sir Walter Ra- 
legh, the insertion of his arms, and several old account-books 
which were found in it, confirming that idea. There is 
no evidence that a seat at West Horseley in Surrey, after- 
wards occupied by his son, and also decorated with the 
family arms, ever belonged to Sir Walter Ralegh. With' 
regard to his residence in London, it fi-equently changed 
from Somerset House, St. James's, and Durham House: 
in all of these places he is supposed to have had apartments : 
and in the latter, which Aubrey describes as a noble palace, 
he is stated to have had a study, " which," says that writer, 
" I well remember, on a little turret ihat looked into and 
over the Thames, and had the prospect which is pleasant, 
perhaps, as any in the world, and which not only refreshes 
the eye-sight, but cheers the spirits, and (to speake my 
mind) I beKeve enlarges an ingeniose man's thoughts.*" 
Ralegh afterwards sold a house at Mitcham in Surrey, for 
the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds, in order to enable 
him to prosecute his last voyage to Guiana. f 

In 1604, all his goods and chattels were, by the King's 
grant, given over to trustees of Ralegh's appointing, to be 
sold for the benefit of his creditors, and of his lady and his 
children.^ To these proceedings there were some obstruc- 
tions, from the knavery of those upon whose prompt and 
honest assistance Ralegh had a peculiaf right to depend. 
Sanderson, a gentleman by birth, father of the historian of 
that name, had married Margaret Snedale, a niece of Sir 
Walter Ralegh's, and was on that account empowered to 
receive considerable sums from the ofliice of wines and 
other charges, with which Ralegh had been in the days of 
his prosperity intrusted. Upon an account of these being 
required, Sanderson, with shameless dishonesty, not only 
declined giving up the proceeds, but attempted to put in a 
claim of two thousand pounds upon Sir Walter's estate. 
An action was therefore commenced against him, and he 
was found liable to the demand, and thrown into prison. J 

* Aubrey's MSS. 

t Observations on Sanderson's History. Introduct. 10. 

} Birch, 62, from Rymcr's Fcedera. § Cayley's Life, vol. ii p. 40 



LIFE OF SIR VVAI.TE!! UALEGII. 201 

This act of justice is tliought to have provoked the enmity 
of Sanderson's son, who inherited the assurance and treach- 
ery for wliich only his father was remarkahle. Becomincr 
secretary to the Earl of Holland, who was chancellor of 
Cambridge, this younger Sanderson was turned out of the 
university for receiving bribes from scholars and bachelors 
to make tliem doctors of divinity upon an occasion of fes- 
tivity ; and " Sanderson's doctors" were long proverbial at 
that seminary of learning, as a term for assumption and 
knavery. By his marriage with the Queen's laundress, 
Sanderson was afterwards initiated into that partial, ven- 
omous species of information which the base know best how 
to glean, and the vindictive how to apply. In his History 
of Mary Queen of Scots, and of her son James, this truly 
reprehensible writer Jias endeavored to level the greatest 
men to the standard which he best understood ; and revers- 
ing the admonition of the wise man, showed that he nei- 
ther forgot nor spared his own nor his father's enemifes. 
Ralegh came, therefore, under the severity of his scourge; 
and had not historians of indisputable accuracy, knowledge, 
and im.partiality, agreed in condemning Sanderson as an 
author of no credit,'*' posterity, affixing much importance to 
the testimony of a contemporary writer, might have done 
lamentable injustice to the memory of one who committed 
doubtless many errors, but not the gross and heinous sins 
which Sanderson has laid to his chai-ge.f 

Thus, whilst the law in one instance with unjust exact- 
ness and rigor, gave -away one portion of the unfortunate 
Ralegh's property, his character suffered ev^en in the en- 
deavor to redeem another \vhich had been unjustly wrested 
from him. To add to the trouble and anxiety incident to 
the first of these proceedings, suspicion now arose, on the 
part of tlie government, of Ralegh's participation in the 
gunpowder plot, that conspiracy being discovered during 
his imprisonment. It was, perhaps, in reference to -if^nc 
these surmises, or to the dread of his obtaining too 
great popularity, that a letter was about this time ad- 
dressed by Sir William Wade to tlie Earl of Salisbury, 



♦ Heylin, in his Exaincn FTi^toriciim. See Advertisement to Ob. on 
Sanderson's Hist. Birch, Oldys, Cayley, Ralegh's Biog., are perhaps 
partial evidence, at least the two latter. 

t See Satidprson's Hist James, pp. 46J, 462, 'V 

riff ■ 



202 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

before whom, as it appears, Ralegh had been taken and 
examined. 

" Sir Walter Ralegh sithence his being before your Lord- 
ship (whereof notice is generally taken) doth shew himself 
upon the wall in his garden to the view of the people, who 
gaze upon him, and he stareth on tliem. Which he doth 
in his cunnhig humor, that it might be thought his being 
before your Lordship was rather to clear than to charge 
him. And Bo he challengeth his keeper, that your Lord- 
ship gave him new liberty, for his son to go abroad, and his 
physician to resort to him. Whicli, I assure your Lord- 
ship, he useth only to justify himself; and the world ex- 
pecteth rather farther restraint than liberty. Whicli made 
me bold in discretion and conveniency to restrain him 
again, and meet with his indiscreet humor, until your 
Lordship shall otherwise order.*" This document sliows 
that Ralegh had experienced some alleviations of the se- 
vetity of his confinement, at the instances of Cecil ; but 
Wade, on the contrary, appears, from liis own account, to 
have been a rigid and suspicious keeper ; and to have urged 
rather the enforcement tlian the relaxation of severity. 
Unhappily, Ralegh's constitution was now irremediably 
broken by his long privation of the free enjoyments of 
exercise and change of scene, and an anticipation of ap- 
proaching death is obvious in a letter wliich he addressed 
to the Queen in 1611. f An extreme shortness of breath 
made him, to use his own expression, in referring to the 
schemes which lie still cherished respecting Guiana, " re- 
solve that God had otherwise disposed of that business, and 
of him." In the same affecting strain he laments that he 
despaired of obtaining so much grace as to be allowed to 
walk with his keeper up the Jiill within the Tower; and 
piteously referred to the liardship of being " shut up after 
eight years of durance, as straigiitly as before ; and the 
punishment due to other men's extreme negligence laid 
altogether upon his patience and obedience," His latter 
passage referred, probably, to some passing occurrence, 
perhaps the escape of some state prisoners. But his forti- 
tude had now nearly deserted him ; and in the same letter 
to the Queen, lie declares that it were a " suit far more 

♦Birch's CoUection in Brit. Museuni. 4160. rxxiii. Cayley, 241, 
t In the Statp Paper Office. Pee App. 



UFR OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 203 

fitting the liardness of his destiny to desire to die once for 
all, and thereby to give end to the miseries of this life, than 
to strive against the ordinance of God, who is a true judge 
of his innocence." 

Ralegh was not, however, without his companions in 
misfortune ; and amongst those were some men distinguish- 
ed both for their rank and acquirements. Of these, the 
most conspicuous was Henry Percy, Earl of Northumber- 
land, who had interceded for Ralegh with the king at an 
early period of this reign. Tiiis nobleman had been sus- 
pected of some concern in the gunpowder plot, from the 
mere circumstance of his kinsman, and agent in the north, 
Thomas Percy, one of the conspirators, liaving called at 
Sion house, on his journey to London, a few days before the 
discovery of that famous treason. Upon this suspicion, 
followed by a star-chamber accusation, the Earl was com- 
mitted to the Tower, where he remained fifteen ipp^ 
years; quitting his unmerited imprisonment two 
years after Ralegh was also released from it. In addition 
to this decree, Northumberland was deprived of all his 
offices, and condemned to pay a fine of thirty thousand 
pounds, — a sum which was appropriated to the payment of 
the Queen's debts.* But the Earl had powerful friends, 
and family connexions; and upon his release, reassumed a 
degree of splendor and consequence whicli the ruined stale 
of Ralegli could never entitle him again to maintain. 
Such was the pride of the highly-descended Percy, rfiat, 
shortly after his restoration, hearing that the duke of 13uck-- 
ingliam had six horses to liis coach, he appeared with eight ; 
and in that style travelled from Bath to London : an equip- 
age the more remarkable, as the species of conveyance 
which he adopted had been rare, even with two horses, in 
the late Queen's reigUvf Notwithstanding this act of folly, 
the earl was a reflective and intelligent man ; the patron 
of science; and in his pursuits, of a taste congenial to tliat 
of Ralegh. Herriot, Miers, and Warner, eminent for their 
mathematical acquirements, sliarcd and enlivened Jiis cap- 
tivity ; and Sergeant Ploskyns, and Dr. Lionel Sharpe, 
were also committed to the Tower during the course of 
Ralegh's conthmance in it. Sharpe had been chaplain to 
the Earl of Essex and to Prince Henry ; but was imprisoned 



* Aikin's Jaiiins I vol. i. p. 274. f Wilson, 720. 



204 hWR OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

for one year, upon suspicion of having suggested to Ser- 
geant Hoskyns some obnoxious allusions which tliat lawyer 
introduced into a bold speech made by him in the House o*f 
Commons.* Hoskyns, who had acquired the reputation of 
a poet, is said to have played "The Aristarchus" to Ra- 
legh, during their mutual seclusion from more enlarged 
Bociety.f The conversation of these persons proved, no 
doubt, a source of recreation and amusement to Ralegh ; 
but it is probable the chief solace of his retirement con- 
sisted in the schemes which he had never wholly relin- 
quished, and which he now again prosecuted with vigor, 
for the second investigation of Guiana. One great obstacle 
to this object was removed by the death of Cecil ; for that 
minister had ever been i-esolutely opposed to tha. plana 
1612 ^'^'^^ Ralegh, at various times, proposed to the 
King with respect to this remote territory. Salis- 
bury, of whom it was said that he was the " first ill treas- 
urer and the last good since the d.ays of Queen Elizabeth,^" 
died on the twenty-eighth of May, at Marlborough, on his 
road fi-om Bath, whither lie had gone as a last resource for 
the cure of complicated diseases, at length terminating in 
consumption. 5 After cruel and lingering sufferings, the 
mind of this indefatigable and ambitious statesman was 
not only resigned to the approach of death, but eager to 
receive the last awful summons from a weary existence. 
" Ease and pleasure," said the dying minister, " quake to 
hear.of death ; but my life, full of cares and miseries, de- 
sireth to be dissolved. |1" In his latter moments, retaining 
all the collectedness and tenacity of memory for wliicli he 
was remarkable, he manifested also the patience and hope 
of a Christian ; such as is said to " have brought joy into 
the sorrow of those around him, in their greatest discom- 
forts giving full assurance of their best happiness. IT" The 
King, the Queen, and the Prince severally sent iiim to- 
kens of their regard and sympathy, almost too late to af- 
ford happiness to a mind bent on higher consolations than 
tlie favor of princes. Although unpopular, probably on 



* Birch's Mem. of P. Henry, C3. 
t Aubrey's MSS. Oxford ed. of Ralegh's Works, 6(>:<. 
I Biograph. § Wiuwood, iii. 407 

KCollPclancti Curiosja, liy Gulch. Sir W Cope's A pnl 
U Wiiuvood, :^66. 



LIFR OF SIR WALTER nALEGH. 205 

account partly of his inclosures of Hatfield Cliase, and oc- 
cupation of tlie palace there, which he had exchanged 
with the king for Theobald's, partly from his conduct to 
Ralcg-h, and partly, probably, from liis near relationship to 
Cobham, whose sister he had married,"* Salisbury was al- 
lowed to possess dexterity and judgment, whicli wore more 
fully appreciated when his successor, the Earl of Suffolk, 
a man of small capacity, came into power.f The expe- 
dients adopted by Cecil for replenishing the treasury, which 
James dispersed among unworthy favorites, had both refer- 
ence to public convenience, and a regard to the mainte- 
nance of the royal dignity. He obtained a great yearly 
revenue by bargaining that the New River water sliould 
be brought to London ; but it was not till after his death 
that the disgraceful practice was begun of selling the 
order of baronet, which he had introduced in imitation of 
Edward III., or that other expedients were adopted equally 
unworthy of the sovereign whose profusion occasioned, or 
whose weakness permitted, such depredations. 

There was a prophecy in King James's reign, " that 
Salisbury's crozy body should yield before Prince Hen- 
ry's| ;" alluding, probably, to those arts of poisoning to 
which all persons of rank or influence were remarkably 
exposed at this era. It was not long, however, before this 
accomplished young prince, in falling a victim to a malig- 
nant fever, confirmed that part of the prophecy by which 
it might be implied, that his destiny and that of Cecil, in 
respect to the period of their deaths, were united.^ 

Concerning the cause of the Prince's malady strange 
rumors were afloat, circulated, not only by vulgar acclama- 
tion, but by means of the individuals most in the vicinity, 
and even in the secrets, of the court. 1| Yet, to those who 
carefully follow the progress of his disorder, and consider 
the delay of administering medical aid, and the time thus 
afibrded to the aggravation of the disease, and wlio mark 
the feebleness and inefficiency of the remedies which were 
applied to the violent symptoms which his disorder from 
its first appearance manifested, it will not appear extraor- 
dinary that an attack, apparently trifling in the beginning. 



• Biog. t Hume. . t AuMcusCoquinarise, 118. 

§ Prince Henry died first, — 1611. 

U Soe Letter from Mr. Rcaiilieii (o i\Ir Tiiriibiill. VVimvood. 

s 



200 UFE OF SIR WAr.TER RALEfiH. 

should have proved mortal, in days when the application 
of " cloven pigeons*" to the feet, and other equally puerile 
efforts, were deemed advisable by the unscientific and em- 
barrassed physicians usually in attendance. The Prince 
began to decline in health in September, complaining of 
pain and giddiness in the head.f After removing from 
place to place for change of air, he took up his abode at St. 
James's on the 25th of October, about which time he was 
occasionally confined to bed. As the autumn advanced, 
his indisposition increased ; and a drowsiness and coldness 
in his head created in the mind of the sufferer himself a 
suspicion that he had imbibed what was then called " the 
disease," a species of fever supposed to have been brought 
from Hungary.| These indications of sickness appear, 
however, to have excited but little attention from his own 
family, although the paleness of his countenance, and the 
change in his temper, which displayed alternate fits of apa- 
thy and of irritability, were perceptible to all who casually 
beheld him on public occasions. It was remarkable, that 
on one of the last occasions of public worship that this la- 
mented prince ever attended, the text of the sermon was 
taken from that fine passage of Job, beginning, " Man, that 
is born of a woman, is of short continuance, and of long 
trouble. 5" On the second of November, he dined with the 
King and the Prince-palatine, who was shortly afterwards 
married to the Lady Elizabctli, scarcely less the idol of the 
nation than the Prince her brother. This was the last 
social enjoyment in which he was able to participate, his 
malady increasing rapidly, and, to all appearance, hope- 
lessly. In this state of public dismay, the Queen, who 
fondly loved a son, rather a source of pride than an object 
of affection to her royal consort, remembered that Ralegh 
had formerly administered to her with success medicine of 
his own composing, which has since obtained the popular 
name of his cordial. It is said that the reward which Ra- 
legh required in the first instance for giving the specific 
was, that Cobliam should be re-examined, a demand as 
creditable to his innocence as it was infamous to his coun- 
try, in which justification could not then be obtained with- 
out either bribery or interest. He was now enjoined to 

♦See Birch's Life of Prince Henry, 270., also Aul. Coq. 154. 

t Notes to Wilson. 680, vol. ii. 410. 

t Birch, ed. 1756, 383. § Ibid. 1756, 337. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 207 

lend the aid of his invention for a purpose, if possible, of 
even greater moment than the fruitless attempt to clear 
his blasted fame ; and was commanded by the Queen to 
send it for the benefit of the dyinrr Prince. By some 
writers a different story is told ; and it is asserted that the 
Queen herself, being given over by the physicians as in- 
curable, the skill. of Ralegh was resorted to with success ; 
and that it was on this occasion that Cobham was brought 
forth from his ignominious seclusion to corroborate or deny 
his statements respecting Ralegh, in presence of six lords 
sent by the King to examine him. By the same authority 
it is stated, that Cobham declared that Wade had forged 
the written document produced as his evidence against 
Ralegh, having procured the wretched peer's signature to 
a blank piece of paper.* The lords, on returning to Lord 
Salisbury, are said to have commissioned him to inform the 
King that Cobham "had subscribed to all that he had 
written ;" a stratagem which, if practised, would have 
been base in the extreme ; but this anecdote is extremely 
improbable, Cobham being with difficulty brought to sub- 
scribe to any examination, and therefore not very likely to 
put his name thus incautiously to a document, in which 
anything whatsoever might be inserted.f It is however 
certain, that, either during the illness of the Queen, or of 
the Prince, Ralegh availed himself of his transitory import- 
ance, as a man of science, to procure the examination of 
Cobham, who is stated on that occasion to have acquitted 
him of all that had been before alleged. Whatever may 
have been the boon promised for the trial of the cordial, or 
whether it were granted at this critical period, or during 
the illness of the Queen, it is singular that he, who had 
been charged with conspiring to extirpate the King and 
his family, should have been intrusted with the adminis- 
tration of any potion to them, the ingredients of which 
were unknown. Ralegh, expressing a tender concern for 
the fate of his young patron, complied, however, with the 
injunction of her Majesty, but accompanied the cordial 
with a letter, purporting that the remedy would cure the 
Prince or any other person of a fever, except in case of 
poison.}; The cordial was received by the Prince's attend- 

* Weldon's Court and Character of King James, 13mo. p. J5. 

t Cayley, vol. ii. p. 48. note. 

1 Welwood's Notes lo Wileon, 7H. 



208 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ants, was tasted, proved, and given to the expiring youth, 
but Vidth no other success than that of procuring some rest.* 
It was not indeed, very probable, that the remedy which 
had been given with success to the Queen, who had a 
dropsy, could liave a beneficial eftect in a fever ; but the 
belief in specifics was then universal, and Ralegh was not, 
probably, sufficiently profound in medical science to dis- 
credit their efficacy. The vital energy of the young 
Prince's frame was now unhappily destroyed ; and repeated 
attacks of convulsion and of death-like faintings had at 
times given birth to the report that life had already fled. 
Nothing could arrest the hand of death ; and this bud of 
promise yielded to it on the sixth of November, after an ill- 
ness obviously of twelve days' continuance, but, in all prob- 
ability, for some weeks threatening his existence before it 
was discovered. 

The general impression that some foul conspiracy or pri- 
vate vengeance had cut short the days of the royal youth, 
displayed itself immediately after his decease. The King, 
unwilling, as it was said, to remain so near the gates of 
sorrow, had removed from the metropolis, where the young 
prince died, to Theobald's, there to await the event. The 
Queen, resting upon tlie rash assertion of Ralegh in his 
letter to her, affirmed till her last hour that her lamented 
son had been poisoned.f Upon the dissolution of his house- 
hold, his chaplain alluded so plainly and so pathetically to 
the supposed cause of his death, that the audience were 
melted into tears, and the preacher was afterwards dis- 
missed for his rashness.^ Some time afterwards, when an 
investigatioji of the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury was 
discussed, the Lord Chief Justice Coke plainly intimated 
that Overbury had been murdered to prevent the discovery 
of another crime, committed on one of the highest rank, 
whom he termed a " sweet prince." For this allusion 
Coke lost the King's favor, and some time afterwards his 
office. 

The solution of these mysterious remarks was variously 
attempted by those who pretended to opportunities of form- 
ing a correct judgment. Of Ralegh's opinion on the sub- 
ject, we have no evidence, nor would prudence have per- 



* Birch's Life of P. Henry, 270. t Wilson, 714. pole. 

} Wei wood '3 note, in Wilson, CjBO. 



LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 209 

mitted him to join in the popular insinuations so dangerous 
to others, and so certain ofdestruction to himself. Sir Robert 
Naunton, then in the service of Overbury, the friend and 
tutor of Car, declared, in a letter to Sir Ralph Winwood, 
that he " held it not fit to write what he conceived, and less 
fit to address it to his correspondent, who was then in situ- 
ations of trust and honor." Rumors of a dark but almost 
absurd tendency were carried about ; — some asserting that 
the Prince was poisoned by a bunch of grapes ; others, that 
an envenomed pair of gloves had communicated a subtle 
poison to his head,* the pain principally lying in that part, 
which was found after his death partly filled with water.f 
The person against whom these insinuations were chiefly 
levelled was Car, Viscount Rochester, now in the height 
of the absurd favor which James had for some time lavished 
upon him. Yet there were those who attributed a share 
in the untimely death of the Prince to the Spaniards, 
whose power and policy he opposed, or to the Catholics in 
general, whose opinions he detested with more zeal than 
candor or good sense.f Others there also were, \vho, in 
secret and guarded terms, ventured even to glance at the 
King as the instigator or assenter to a crime too heinous 
and too unnatural for the soul of James to contemplate 
without horror. It was, perhaps, the indiscreet and heart- 
less conduct of that monarch on this occasion which in- 
spired such suspicions. He forbade all mourning in hie 
court, — a circumstance, by no means, however, unprece- 
dented, since, after the death of Queen Elizabeth, the for- 
eign ambassadors were forbidden to appear before the 
King in mourning, and the court was only allowed to wear 
that tribute of respect for two months^ ; and he was equally 
negligent in observing that form when his own consort 
died. The black imputation which has been cast upon 
him is unsupported by any evidence of more weight than 
the gossip and slander of his own court ; and it is probable 
that, had not the disclosures of the infamous Mrs. Turner 
been brought to light, the alarm of poison would not have 
been so rapidly conveyed to the public mind, nor so readily 
cherished when implanted. It was also, probably, com- 
pletely discredited by those who had witnessed the dutifiil 

♦ Wilson, 690. t Aiil. Coq. 154. 

t Wilson, 790 § Ibid. 081. note. 

S2 



210 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

and discreet conduct of the young Prince towards his 
father, who at times had heen inclined to censure his son's 
readiness in entering into public affairs, and even into the 
regulation of his own liousehold.* 

Whilst the deatli of Prince Henry precluded all hope of 
permanent sunshine settling upon the path of Ralegh, that 
of Cecil produced no peculiar benefit to his interests. Cir- 
cumstances combining, as it might appear, from mere ac-: 
cident, eventually paved the way, however, to a change, 
seemingly propitious to the restitution of his fortunes. In 
1014, he was allowed the liberty of the Tower ; a privi- 
lege which he owed either to the tranquillity of domestic 
affairs, or possibly to the intercession of the Queen. But 
this permission was not enjoyed without the alloy of hear- 
ing that liis eldest son Walter was obliged to escape into 
the Low Countries, on account of a duel in which he had 
been engaged with Mr. Robert Tyrwhit, a dependant of 
the Earl of Suffolk, who had succeeded Cecil as Lord High 
Treasurer.! The issue of this affair has not transpired ; 
and it can be inferred only that the necessity for absence 
was merely temjjorary, from the return of the youth, and 
his subsequent employment in the enterprise to Guiana. 
Meanwhile, singular events and changes had taken place 
in the English court. 

Car, now Earl of Somerset, had for some time been ob- 
noxious to the greater part of the aristocracy, and at open 
enmity to the queen, who, from some secret persuasion 
respecting the mode of Prince Henry's death, had never 
consented to see the favorite since that event ; a line of 
conduct the more remarkable, as the thoughtless and profli- 
gate Anne of Denmark had never, in any other instance, 
been sufficiently aroused from a career of frivolity and a 
life of insignificance, to interfere in any public transac- 
tion.! Intrigues of the blackest character, and murder, ag- 
gravated by every artifice of cruelty, had for some time 
been gradually worked out of the dark mine in which their 
iniquitous agents had found means to conceal these heinous 
crimes. Ralegh, in his imprisonment, might compare his 
fate with that of tlie unfortunate Sir Thomas Overbury, 
who now shared the gloomy confinement to which so many 



* Birch's Mem. 381. t Birch, 65. 

t Welwood's notes to Wilson, 097. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 211 

in those days of arbitrary power were destined, without 
the privilege of being heard, or the satisfaction of legal 
defence. That unhappy man, guilty in having communi- 
cation with the guilty, had died a victim to the lingering 
poisons of Somerset and his accomplices, infused into every 
article of his food, and even into the salt with which his 
meat was seasoned.* The conspiracy by which his death 
was accomplished, was revealed by one of its meanest 
members, the apothecary's boy who administered the last 
poison ; and Sir Ralph Win wood, formerly ambassador in 
the Netherlands, assisted by the Queen, brought the whole 
matter before the King and council. But little would dis- 
covery have availed to the punishment of the delinquents, 
had not James found a new object, upon which to lavish 
the weak fondness of a heart indifferent to its natural and 
nearest ties. 

George Villiers, afterwards Duke of Buckingham, and 
the instrument of Ralegh's release from the Tower, was 
now considered as the rising favorite. Educated by a care- 
ful and provident mother, herself raised from a low sta- 
tion to be the second wife of his father, a Leicestershire 
knight, Villiers was trained in the expectation of his one 
day becoming a courtierf ; and, being a younger son, with 
some management furnished with the sum of fifty pounds, 
and sent up to London. Possessed of a singular and com- 
manding beauty, of an open and happy countenance,^ and 
of a calm and pliant temper, Villiers soon attracted the 
notice of the King, who was captivated with his personal 
advantages, and was afterwards wont to give him the name 
of Steney, or Steplien, in an allusion, both adulatory and 
profane, to the solemn occasion of which it is recorded that 
"the council, looking stedfastly" on that apostle, "saw 
his face as if it had been the face of an angel. 5" " Favored 
rather by the Graces than the Muses," and endowed with 
acquirements more brilliant than solid, but displaying 
eventually both courage as a soldier, and ui civil life, Vil- 
liers was compared to that darling of the chivalrous part of 
the nation, Brandon, Duke of Suffolk,|| in the time of Henry 

* Wilson, 693. f Wilson, 698. 

t Reliquife Wottonia;, 77. Parallel between the Duke of Buckingham 
and Earl of Essex. 
§ Granger's Biography, vol. i. 326. || Rel. Wot. 17. 



212 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

VIII. This accomplished nobleman* had never, however, 
been admitted to thosS marks of favor which almost imme- 
diately succeeded the introduction of young Villiers to 
James. The King took him instantly to be his cup-bearer, 
an office by which he was retained in the -presence of the 
monarch, without awakening the jealous suspicions of the 
former favorite ; and he was soon afterwards made a gentle- 
man of the bed-chamber. From this time, the ruin of Som- 
erset proceeded with rapid strides. The King, who had 
evidently some private reasons for endeavoring to avoid 
irritating his former idol, dissembled, indeed, with him in 
the matter of Overbury, whilst he pretended, in his com- 
munications with the judges, the utmost zeal for the fur- 
therance of justice. It was during the rise of young Vil- 
,p, K liers to the highest distinctions of royal favor, that 
Ralegh, after an imprisonment of twelve years, be- 
gan to liope once more for the enjoyment of that liberty 
which he knew so well how to employ. Of the measures 
which he adopted to procure his liberation little is known, 
except this melancholy and scandalous fact, that it was not 
from the relenting sense of justice in the King, or even 
from his mercy, that Ralegh had to expect this long-craved 
boon. In those times, public honor was perhaps at its low- 
est ebb, and bribery most upheld in shameless effrontery. 
It was essential therefore, and perhaps might be excusable, 
where the greatest blessing of life was concerned, to bend 
to the corruptions of the times ; and Ralegh, who had for- 
merly descended to receive, from others, payment for his 
good offices at court, was now constrained to try the poten- 
cy of similar inducements to others. Accordingly, he paid 
to Sir William Saint Jolm, and Sir Edward Villiers, the 
uncles of the new favorite, the sum of fifteen hundred 
pounds ; and by this means obtained, with the mediation of 
the Lady Villiers,,the mother of Buckingham, his final re- 
lease.f A few months before this event, he had the singu- 
lar fate to behold Somerset, long triumphant whilst he lan- 
guished in confinement, and the usurper of his valued 
estate of Sherborne, conducted, as a prisoner, to the Tower. 
Respecting this vicissitude, Ralegh observed, "that the 
whole history of the world had not the like precedent, of 
a king's prisoner to purchase freedom, and his bosom favor- 

* Rel. 30. 3L t Oldys, 192. 



LIFE OF sm WALTER RALEUH. 213 

ite to have the halter, but in Scripture, in tlie case of Mor- 
decai and Haman." Upon being apprized of this remark, 
the King is said to have observed, "that Ralegh might die 
in that deceit* ;" a singular proof of James's inveterate dis- 
like to this persecuted subject, and a most disgraceful one 
of tlie monarch's secret, and afterwards fulfilled intentions 
to uphold the sinner in his ways. 

On the 17th of March 1615, Ralegh was liberated, and 
on the same day lie addressed to Villiers the following 
letter : — 

" Sir, — You have, by your mediation, put me again into 
the world. I can but acknowledge it : for to pay any part 
of your favor, by any service of mine, as yet is not in my 
power. If it succeed well, a good part of the honor shall 
be yours ; and if I do not also make it profitable unto you, I 
shall show myself exceeding ungrateful. In the mean- 
while, and till God discover the success, I beseech you to 
reckon me among the number of your faithful servants, 
though the least able. 

"W. Ralegh, t" 



CHAPTER VIL 

Ralegh's Designs with regard to Guiana.— His last Voyage thither.— Its 
unfortunate issue. — His Return. — Apprehension. — Trial. — Death. — Ac- 
count of his Literary Works, and Character. 

It is interesting to conjecture what are likely to be the 
reflections, and the first efforts of an able and ambitious 
man, the restlessness of whose active mind has been long 
repressed by despair, and the co-operating energy of whose 
bodily exertions diminished, if not annihilated, by the chill- 
ing quietude of imprisonment. In returning to what Ra- 
legh might almost deem a renewed existence, he cherished 
with most avidity the fruition of hopes which had been 
nurtured in seclusion, and rushed with the greatest degree 
of ardor into schemes, to which, by contrast with the drea- 
riness and monotony of the foregoing years, a false bril- 
liancy had been imparted. 

It has been remarked, in the course of this narrative, 

• Birch, 66. t OWys, 192. 



214 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

that his inclinations had been early directed to maritime 
pursuits, with a greater zest than to any other means of 
acquiring fame ; a preference resulting, probably, from the 
associations of his infancy with those whose lives were 
sedulously passed in advancing the interests of navigation. 
As maturer age brought to his view the advantages of 
speculation to his rising fortunes, Ralegh had continued his 
naval exploits with the avidity with which mercantile oc- 
cupations arc usually followed, and with the boldness and 
determination which characterize warlike affairs. In the 
decline of life, he now regarded his former researches in 
remote countries as a resource, by the aid of which he 
might raise his name from degradation, and his condition to^ 
affluence and honor. In a retirement of twelve years' con- 
tinuance, schemes of fresh enterprise and exertion had 
been his solace and employment, and the first acquisition 
of liberty vv^as devoted to the fruition of these cherished de- 
signs. Unhappily for him, his plans partook of that spirit 
of romance and temerity which a long seclusion from gene- 
ral society sometimes engenders ; and the hopes with which 
he adorned the prospects of futurity, were lavished upon 
grounds not calculated to bring him an equitable produce. 
In order to comprehend fully the merits of the undertaking 
upon which his solitary meditations were employed, it is 
necessary to refer to ike exertions which Ralegh had made, 
at a former period of his life, in promoting the extension 
of maritime discovery. 

It were tedious to recapitulate the voyage which he 
made to Guiana in 1595. Since that fruitless expedition, 
it might appear that important occupations, and repeated 
anxieties and vicissitudes, would have banished all future 
projects of the same nature from the mind of Ralegh. 
During the life of Cecil it was, indeed, hopeless to en- 
deavor to procure liberty; and, if liberty, permission for 
the renewal of this scheme. By a letter in the State Paper 
Office, it is evident that Ralegh found the opposition of 
that minister instirmountable ; for, addressing the Queen,* 
he informs her that he had lately presumed to send her 
Majesty the copy of a letter written to the Lord Treasurer 
concerning Guiana ; and that " there was nothing done 
therein, he could not but wonder with the world, did not 

* See Appendix, R. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 215 

the malice of the world exceed the wisdom thereof." " In 
mine own respect," he continues, " the ever-living God^v 
doth witness that I never sought such an employment; for 
all the gold on the earth could not invite me to travel after 
misery and death, both which I had been more likely to have 
overtaken in that voyage, than to have returned from it." 
The design of revisiting Guiana was, as he affirms, revived 
entirely for the approving of his faith to the King, " and 
to have done him such a service as had seldom been per- 
formed for any king.*" But James, influenced by Cecil, 
and by Ralegii's other enemies at court, listened to the 
supplications of the Queen, and to all other mediators for 
the unhappy prisoner, only to reply to them in these 
words : — " That his council knew him better than he did." 
Some indications of a relenting spirit on the part of gov- 
ernment, appeared, however, towards the latter years of 
Ralegh's imprisonment.! Jn aid of these, his own personal 
exertions, and the small remains of his property, had been 
continually applied. Even in times of difficulty and dis- 
tress, he had been able to send a vessel every year to 
Guiana, to reassure the hopes of the affrighted Indians, 
who were perpetually liable to the invasions and outrages 
of the Spanish Colonies in South America. By the ships 
thus dispatched, natives of the province had been occa- 
sionally brought to England, and allowed to communicate 
with Ralegh in the Tower. J After the death of Cecil, and 
upon the appointment of Sir Ralph Winwood to the office 
of Secretary of State, Ralegh resumed his propo- -ipi ^ 
sals, and in a letter to him, declared it to be his own 
greatest infelicity, that the King " did not know him as 
those courtiers pretended to do; for, had his Majesty 
known him, h^would never have been where he then 
was ; or, had he Known his Majesty, they had never been 
so long where they then were." 

To the furtherance of his designs, the patronage, or at 
least the indulgence, of the court, was far more essential 
than his individual efforts ; and Ralegh, with a perseverance 
not to be daunted, resolved to address himself, again and 
again, to that source, humbly to supplicate permission to 
venture the wreck of his fortunes, and the remaining 



* See Original Letter. f Ilarleian Miscellany, iii. 145. 

J Ralegh's Apol. fur tliR Voyage to Giiinna, in Uirrli, vol. ii. p. 52, 53. 



216 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

, /., r Strength of an enfeebled constitution, in the service 
r ^' of his country. In Sir Ralph Winwood he met 
with a degree of indulgence and encouragement to which 
he had long been a stranger. Winwood had but recently 
acquired a justly merited portion of influence, from which 
he jiad been precluded during the prosperity of Somerset ; 
who, altliough occupying the less important office of cham- 
berlain, had engrossed the actual control of all state em- 
ployments, and had suffered no places nor favors to be 
given away except by his own hands, or through his ac- 
knowledged mediation.* Upon the disgrace of Somerset, 
Winwood had a transitory enjoyment of real authority, 
which was closed, however, by his death, in less than two 
years, worn out by age, and still more by the fatigues of 
an active and anxious career. To him, Ralegh now, how- 
ever, addressed a letter, induced, probably, to hope for a 
favorable reply to his petitions, from the integrity of Win- 
wood, who required no bribery from suitors to enforce the 
justice of their petitions, and by his well-known abilities 
and attainments, which might enable the veteran ambas- 
sador justly to appreciate schemes of public utility. It 
was, also, a circumstance of some avail to Ralegh, that Sir 
Ralpli was in close union with the Queen, who, in con- 
junction with the secretary, had formed the rival party to 
Somerset and to his factionf ; for it is evident, from the 
whole tenor of Anne's conduct to Ralegh, that she was 
fully sensible of his innocence, and persuaded of the loyalty 
of liis actions and motives. To this favorable disposition, 
Ralegh, in his letter to Sir Ralph Winwood, on this occa- 
sion, makes a pointed allusion, when he observes, that " tiie 
wife, the brother, and the son of a King, do not use to sue 
for men suspect.|" Seconded by friends ^ powerful, and 
possessing in the Queen one who during trie short remain- 
der of- her life never forsook him, it might seem that Ra- 
legh's days of prosperity had now returned with renewed 
freshness ; yet never was he in a condition of more immi- 
nent peril than at this juncture, when, emerging apparent- 
ly fj-om obscurity and distress, he hastened into snares 
which were curiously connected with the political concerns 
and intrigues of the period. 

* Wilson's James I., p. 698. Grainger, i. p. 381. \ Wilson, p. 698. 
\ Letter in Cayley, vol. ii. p. .58. See Appcndi.x. 



l.lFi: or ;<1H WAl.TFll KM.IiOU. 217 

It had ever been a determined project witli Kini^ James, 
that the "beams" of his eldest son's greatnesf? should dis- 
play themselves only in. a royal horizon."'^ The death of 
Prince Henry had occasionecl no change in his plan ; for 
that lamented youth, although far more beloved by the 
people than the "serious and reserved Prince Charles, had 
never either shared the aflections, nor participated in the 
intimacy, of the King. The inclinations of James virere 
well understood at the Spanisli Court, and his hopes per- 
petually excited of an union between the house of Stuart 
and the Infanta of Spain, daughter of Philip III. The 
treaty, however, proceeded but slowly, partly from the 
natural caution and gravity of the Spanish cliaracter, and 
partly, as it was thought, from a dread which the Spaniards 
entertained, of renewing a species of bond and alliance, 
which had proved so disastrous between them in the in- 
stance of Henry VIII. and Katharine of Arragon.f It was 
during this uncertain state of affairs, that Don Diego of 
SarmTento, better known in this coimtry by the name of 
Gondemar, was selected by the Spanish ministry to act as 
ambassador in England ; not, indeed, without well-ground- 
ed expectations that his address, vivacity, and consummate 
effrontery, would work upon the simplicity of James, and 
reduce him v.-holly to a conformity to the interests of Spain. 
Furnished not only with all the requisites of an expert 
courtier, but with ample means of bribery and corruption, 
Gondemar soon contrived to bring the most important per- 
sonages, whether male or female, in the court, into a close 
compact with him, and into a full co-operation with his in- 
trigues. The derelictions from integritj% which were at 
this time prevalent among the highest officers of state, 
were both scandalous and appalling ; and of these Gonde- 
mar knew well how to avail himself; nor was his danger- 
ous influence to be estimated only by the duration of his 
power. He implanted within the bosom of the court seeds 
of avarice, and of notions of self-aggrandizement, — the 
fruits and effects of which were transmitted from father to 
son ; and the boasted ages of James I., and of his son, un- 
duly extolled, as they have been, as an era of private virtue 
and probity, evince, in their annals, corruptions which were 

♦ Wilson, 702. 

t We)don, 32. fee also Lodge's IlIustiHtions, iii. 28C. 



218 LIFE OV SIR WALTER UALEGU 

nearly, if not wholly unknown, amonn- the English nobility 
under the capricious, but rigid dominion of the Tudors. So 
notorious, indeed, were the practices of Gondemar upon 
the virtue of our courtiers, that, in a few years after his 
residence in England, there was said not to be a single 
courtier who had not tasted of Spanish bounty ; and if Ce- 
cil himself were exempt, his favorite, the Countess of Suf- 
folk, was permitted by him to reap the profits of his pur- 
chased influence — the famous palace of Audley End having 
been unblushingly erected by the aid of bribes received 
from the Spanish ambassador. 

These, although notorious, are but scanty instances 
among the numerous collusions of the same nature alluded 
to by historians. 

It was during the height of the Spanish dominion over 
the king and court, that Ralegh was unhappily induced to 
bring to maturity his cherished schemes of subduing Gui- 
ana. The Spaniards had already looked with jealousy 
upon his former expeditions, but had either dreaded tlie 
displeasure of his early patroness, the formidable Elizabeth, 
or had discarded the task of frustrating the progress of our 
colonists in that quarter for more important contests. The 
renewal of his designs, however, at a time when the influ- 
ence of the Spanish Court seemed to be fairly established 
here, was no sooner imparted to the public than it was ve- 
hemently opposed by the insidious yet determined Gonde- 
mar. Unluckily he had in James a frail vessel upon which 
to pour the venom of his machinations. The King, on this 
occasion, conducted himself with a vacillation and pusil- 
lanimity verging into deception of the most reprehensible 
character. He had, in the first instance, cordially acqui- 
esced in Ralegh's project, and, according to some accounts, 
had acceded to the release of that oppressed subject the 
more readily that some remote prospects of wealth and 
conquest seemed to await his restored exertions. With a 
degree of treachery which indecision and weakness can 
account for, but not excuse, he now not only imparted the 
nature of the whole scheme to Gondemar, but enabled the 
ambassador to furnish the Spanish monarch with every par- 
ticular of the intended attack, and consequently with the 
means of annulling its success.* 

* Biograptiia. Life of Ralegh, 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 219 

Unconscious of these proceedings, Ralegh prepared to 
venture the last remains of a once ample fortune in the 
fetal enterprise on which he was intent. The expenses 
of this expedition were defrayed entirely by himself or by 
his friends, some few adventurers, chiefly foreigners, being 
found to share in the undertaking.* The sum of eight 
thousand pounds, which had been granted by King James 
as a compensation for the sequestration of Ralegh's valua- 
ble estates, was now reclaimed from the Countess of Bed- 
ford, to whom it had been lent.f The disinterested and 
devoted Lady Ralegh gave lier consent to the sale of an 
estate belonging to her at Mitcham in Surrey, and valued 
at two thousand five hundred pounds ; a sacrifice by which 
she was reduced eventually almost to beggary, but which 
proved her confidence in the good faith of her husband, and 
her belief both in the practicability of his scheme, and in 
his intentions of fulfilling his professions regarding Guiana. 
A commission was also procured tlirough the mediation of 
Sir Ralph Winwood, constituting Ralegh Admiral of the 
Fleet, and dated Aug. 26, 1616 ; but this document was 
not granted until after he had given the most decided assu- 
rances to the government that he had no hostile intentions 
or piratical designs upon the Spanish settlements; and 
chiefly, according to the noted declaration of King James, 
afl;erwards published, because it "stood with His Majes- 
ty's politic and magnanimous courses in these his flourish- 
ing times of peace to nourish and encourage noble and 
generous enterprises for plantations, discoveries, and open- 
ing of new trades.J" To this document, the Privy Seal 
was alone affixed, as King James in his declaration affirm- 
ed ; yet Ralegh is said to have referred to the authority of 
the Great Seal in a letter which he dictated to be written 
i#ft.tive to his voyage,^ and the powers vested in him were 
both extensive and important. 

The commission specified, that for the benefit of the 

♦Oldys, 193. tCayley, ii. 61. t Declaration of King James. 

§Oldys, 193. Cnyloy. Appendix. This was a letter written by Mr. 
Peter Vanlore, an eminent merchant, to his brother at Amsterdam, in 
favor of Ralegh's undertaking, entreating hinj to receive some deposi- 
tions of importance relative to Guiana, from a merchant of Amsterdam, 
who required, as the reward of the information which he was able to 
give, an agreement on the part of Ralegh that he should share the profits 
of the coinnioditv referred to in the intelligence thus afforded.— Oldys, 
fol. 193. 



320 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALLUH. 

subjects of tlie realm, and the encouragement of othera in 
the "like laudable enterprises, the princely furtherance 
was given to Sir Walter Ralegh and his friends, with full 
power to carry for the voyage to Guiana so many of tlie 
British subjects, or such as should become British subjects, 
as should willingly accompany him, with an unlimited supply 
of arms, ammunition, ships," &c. To these clauses was 
added the permission to trade in goods and merchandise, 
and to bring back gold, silver, bullion, and other wares to 
this country, " for the proper use of Sir Walter Ralegh 
and his company, reserving to the King and his heirs, one 
fifth only of such importations." In addition to these pow- 
ers, Ralegh was authorized to pass to the south or otiier 
parts of America ; was constituted also general and com- 
mander of the enterprise ; governor of the new country, 
and endowed with the privilege of exercising martial law, 
in a similar manner to the county lieutenants in England, 
or to the lieutenant-general of land or sea forces. Respect- 
ing this commission, of which an abstract was given sub- 
sequently to Ralegh's death in liing James's declaration, 
various reports were circulated; and in particular a state- 
ment was made that the words " to our trusty and well- 
beloved knight. Sir Walter Ralegh," were prefixed ; ex- 
pressions which Ralegh is said to have afterwards pleaded 
as implying a pardon.* Regarding this important detail 
the royal declaration is silent ; although it gives an abstract 
of the original commission. It has been well remarked 
that the dismgenuity and artifice of the whole proceeding 
was manifested in the terms of this abstract ; the country 
which Ralegh was empowered to explore not being even 
once specified by name, and America alone referred to as 
the vast and indefinite region of his enterprise. Such was 
the paltry subterfuge by which James, or his minista|L 
sought to evade the displeasure of the Spaniards, in tne 
event of hostile measures between Ralegh and the Span- 
ish settlers in Guiana proving eventually necessary. 

The sanguine expectations of success which Ralegh en- 
tertained, appear to have lessened his natural discernment, 
and to have blinded him to the snares concealed in tlie 

* See Declaration of King James in Oldys, 193, 1S)4, also Birch, i. 68. 
t Ralegh's Uf-innin?, p 200 I'l.Tpiira History nf England, and Trini- 
dad's notps. 



MFK OJ' rilR WALTER RALEGH. 221 

apparent liberality of the King's dealings towards him, and 
to the danger of confiding in a government which had 
alread)^ upon unsatisfactory evidence and an illegal trial, 
subjected him to a cruel incarceration. Some misgivings 
appear to have suggested the notion of a more definite re- 
lease from his former sentence, than he had hitherto found 
it possible, or deemed it essential to procure. Assured, to 
all appearance, of the King's perfect accordance, and even 
patronage ; and trusting in the good faith of a monarch to 
whom that principle of action was unknown, and who 
could afterwards avail himself of an informality to depart 
from the virtual sense of an implied permission, Ralegh 
was not devoid of a natural apprehension concerning the 
use to which his enemies might, subsequently, apply any 
deficiency in the forms of his restoration to an implied 
equality with his free fellow-subjects. As his liberation 
had been effected by working upon the corruptions of the 
times, so he now turned his attention to obtaining explicit 
pardon through the same means. There was in those days 
but little difficulty in obtaining almost any boon for money, 
and Ralegh had even a proposal from Sir William St. John, 
who had been instrumental in procuring his liberation, to 
effect his pardon for the sum of £1500.* But being, proba- 
bly, not in a state to afford such a payment, in addition to 
the expenses of his projected voyage, Ralegh had recourse 
to the advice of Lord Bacon, then Lord Keeper, and him- 
self but recently restored to royal favor. Upon the coun- 
sels of this profound observer of human nature and its 
concerns, the ilKfated Ralegh rejected the overture made 
to him by Sir William St. John. The memorable and dis- 
tinct assurance of the illustrious Bacon, on this occasion, 
is related by two contemporary writers, and it exonerates 
Ralegh from the charge either of indiscretion, or of neg- 
ligence, in not obtaining the necessary documents. " Sir," 
said the highly-gifted minister, in reply to his application, 
" the knee-timber of your voyage is money ; spare your 
purse in this particular ; for, upon my life, you have a suf- 
ficient pardon for all that is passed already : the King 
having, under his broad seal, made you Admiral of his 
Fleet, and given you power of the martial law over your 

* Brief Relation of Ralegh's Troubles Remaing. 

T2 



222 LIFE^OF Sm WALTER RALEGH. 

officers and soldiers.*" This opinion, besides elucidating 
the opinion of Bacon upon the illegality of the subsequent 
proceedings against Ralegh, establishes the fact of the 
original commission having been given under the Great 
Seal, notwithstanding that it is expressly set down in the 
King's printed declaration as "per breve de private sigil- 
lo.f" But although the advice was consonant, not only 
with law, but with common sense, the motives of Bacon in 
aJTording it have been questioned, and attributed to a ser- 
vile desire of flattering the King's wishes, by affording 
James afl opportunity of excusing any future prosecution 
of Ralegh, upon the ground of the sentence of death passed 
against him in 1603, never having been repealed. Un- 
happily the character of Bacon authorizes no indignant 
rejection of surmises too easily reconcilable with the cor- 
ruption of his conduct, and the unfathomable duplicity of 
his nature. But, since tliere is no proof of the charge, no 
record of any particular benefit which he derived from the 
counsel, it may be lioped, if not inferred, that Bacon was 
in this instance innocent of betraying one who trusted in 
his counsels, and enthusiastically reverenced his talents ; 
one whose labors for the improvement of mankind, sprung, 
like those of Bacon, in many instances, from the pure 
sources of patriotism and philanthropy, and raising them 
both, in that sense, far above the level of the age in which 
they lived, and the characters by whom they were sur- 
rounded, procured for them memorials of fame independ- 
ent of the passmg history with which they were but tem- 
porarily connected, and distinct from the errors by which 
their conduct in relation to worldly concerns was lamenta- 
bly sullied. 

All preliminaries being arranged, Ralegh, seven months 
after the date of the royal commission, completed the pre- 
paration of his fleet ; and on the 28th of March, 1618, be- 
gan his ill-omened voyage, and sailed down the Thames. 
In assembling the force with which he prepared to set forth 
upon this expedition, having had recourse to the aid of 
several merchant adventurers, he was compelled to accept 
as his associates, and to collect as his subordinate assistants, 

♦See Howell's Familiar Letters. Oxford Edition of Ralegh's Works, 
vol. viii. p. 752 

fNoto to Biog. : lAfo nf Kalcgh : and dtifoniiiions nn Raiidorsoii'i; 
Hiot. K. .I.nmps, )' in. . 



, LJFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 223 

men, and even officers, who had never witnessed either 
land or sea service ; and of desperate, or at least disreput- 
able characters, whose friends were happy to procure for 
them any employment, which for the sum of forty or fifty 
pounds could retain them abroad for a year ; and if not out 
of mischief, at least in habits of active exertion for some 
time. The volunteers on this occasion were, therefore, 
with the exception of forty gentlemen, a disorderly and in- 
efficient assemblage of dissolute and unprofitable persons, 
whom it was Ralegh's hopeless task to organize, and to 
stimulate with the same ardent desires as those which ani- 
mated his own bosom. In describing these, his compan- 
ions, Ralegh expresses himself in these characteristic 
terms : " Their friends," says he, " thought it an exceeding 
good gain to be discharged of them, at the hazard of some 
tiiirty, some forty, or fifty pounds, knowing they could not 
live so cheap at home.*" These valiant characters, stowed, 
at first, in six different ships, were joined by several others 
before they left the English coast. Ralegh, in a vessel ap- 
propriately named " The Destiny," carrying 440 tons and 
36 pieces of ordnance, and built at his own charge, was ac- 
companied by his eldest son as captain, and by two hundred 
volunteers, eighty of whom were gentlemen, and many of 
them his relations, the number of whom was afterwards in- 
creased.! For the benefit of this motley company, -la^'r 
Ralegh, previous to their sailing, published at Ply- 
mouth orders to be observed by the several commanders 
of the fleet and land forces, f It is observable, that he who 
was taxed by the illiberal and uncharitable part of the 
community in his own day, and who has, in a great mea- 
sure, been supposed even in the present age to have been 
coldly affected to religion, ^ prefaces these regulations with 
strict injunctions to begin and close the day with Divine 
service ; enforcing his exhortations with a solemn admoni- 
tion, by which he reminds them that " no action nor enter- 
prise can prosper (be it by land or sea), without the favor 
and assistance of Almighty God, the Lord and strengtli of 
hosts and armies ;" and enjoining them, if there be inter- 
ruption from foul weather, to perform this important and 

* Camden's Annals. Ralegh, Apology for liis Voyage to Guiana, Ox- 
ford ed. of his works, 
t Cayley, vol. ii. p. 6o. J Birch, i. xrvii. 

§ See Hiinie'g History <if EiiglaiKJ. reign of Junifs I. 



224 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. » 

consolatory duty at least once during the day ; " praising 
God every night with singing of a psalm at the setting of 
the watch.*" 

Such was the spirit of his last instructions previous to 
the commencement of his voyage. If, in directing an im- 
moral and undisciplined crew, he deemed the soothing in- 
fluence of religious habits efficacious, it is to be hoped that 
he experienced also, in his own mind, the benign effects of 
those serious and pious contemplations to which his mind 
appears to have resorted in the seasons of his heavy afflic- 
tions ; and which could alone effectually support him in the 
renewed and overwhelming calamities which it was soon 
his destiny to encounter. 

The very outset of Ralegh's enterprise was inauspicious. 
It was late in June, or perhaps early in July, before he had 
fairly put to sea, and, afler various disappointments and 
impediments previous to his voyage, he was obliged by 
tempestuous weather to take refuge in the harbor of Cork, 
where he remained until the month of August had nearly 
elapsed, and was spent in anxiety and inactivity. These 
disasters were aggravated, if not at the time, at a subse- 
quent period, by reports that he had no intention of going 
to Guiana, but that he lingered at Plymouth when he had 
■ a fair wind ; a rumor which was accompanied by the con- 
trary assertion, that he meant to turn pirate, and to return 
to his country no more.j- And a similar accusation was re- 
iterated against his involuntary loss of time in Ireland, 
which he had no intention of touching when he lefl Eng- 
land. These disparaging and defamatory statements were 
attributed by Ralegh to the circumstance of his being in 
the eye of the law still a culprit, which emboldened all who 
were disaffected to his interests and service, to spread 
abroad calumnies which they would not have dared to utter 
against one who basked in the sunshine of royal favor.J At 
length, in September, he gained the Canary Islands ; in 
October, those of Cape de Verd ; reaching, in November, 
the continent of South America. In this calamitous pas- 
sage an accumulation of disasters arrived, which no pen 
but that of Ralegh could describe in the touching language 
in which he poured forth his sorrows to his anxious and 
ever-devoted wife. 5 

* Ralegh's Apol. in Cayley, vol. ii. p. 84. t Ibid. t Apology. 

§ See Letter to Lady Ralegh, iti Ralegh's Remains, duod. 1664. 



LIFE OF SIR W'ALTEK RALEGH. 225 

In tliis letter, the lirst which he addressed to her from 
Guiana, he describes himself as suffering from the most 
violent calenture (or fever) for fifteen days, that man ever 
endured and survived : " but God," he continues, " that gave 
me a strong heart in all my adversities, hath also now 
strengthened it in the hell-fire of heat." 

Durmg the course of the voyage forty-two persons died 
of some contagious distemper, and many of the crew were 
still diseased upon landing at Guiana. Two hundred ef- 
fective men, however, remained ; and, with these, Ralegh 
expected to advance, provided that the Spaniards liad not, 
upon the information of Gondemar, fortified themselves 
to resist his approach; a circumstance which, by the tone 
of his language, he seemed to consider as but too proba- 
ble.* 

In this conjunction of difficulties and of disappointments, 
he liad the satisfaction of being able to assure the anxious 
mother whom he addressed, that their eldest son, who ac- 
companied him, was in perfect health, and had escaped 
every di-stemper whilst enduring the equinoctial heat. This 
consolatory intelligence was soon to be succeeded by tidings 
of the most afflicting nature, both to him who was destined to 
communicate, and to her who received the blow which 
they imparted. Such was the distress, apprehension, and 
regret, which Ralegh experienced during these early days 
of his enterprise, tliat, in desiring to be remembered to two 
ol' his friends, he apologized for not addressing himself to 
them in these afflicting terms ; — " I write not to them, for 
I can write of naught but miseries.! " Yet, in the extremi- 
ty of his suffering, a sanguine temper, and still more, a 
confidence in tlie superintendence of that Providence whicli 
had permitted him to pass securely the dangers of tlie 
ocean, upheld and cheered him. " By the next, I trust, you 
shall hear better of us : in God's hands we were, and in 
Him w-e trust." In the conclusion of his letter, the vanity 
natural to human nature was apparent, and, with a desire 
to solace the individual whom he addressed, probably insti- 
gated this parting effusion : " To tell you that I might be, 
here, King of the Indians, were a vanity ; but my name 
hath lived among them : here they feed me with fVesh meat, 



♦ Remains, Kl t Ibid. 225. 



226 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

and all that the country yields — all offer to obey me. Com- 
mend me to poor Carew, my son.*" 

But the difficulties and suiferings which Ralegh enume- 
rated in his first letter from Guiana were far exceeded by 
others of a far more momentous and poignant character, ac- 
counted by him, in his narrative to Sir Ralph Winwood, as 
the greatest misfortunes that ever befell any man.f 

In the first place, the passage from Cape de Verd to 
America, which Wcis usually in those days accomplished in 
fifleen or twenty days, was with difficulty made by Ralegh 
in six weeks, from adverse winds and storms, and the addi- 
tional inconvenience to the little fleet of losing its water- 
casks and anchors off Bravo, one of the Cape do Verd 
Islands, upon which it was driven by a hurricane, to the 
imminent peril of the ships and mariners. 

When, at length, the adventurers reached Guiana, many 
of the bravest men were disabled by sickness, and Ralegh 
himself, having, as he describes it, been " in the hands of 
death these six weeks," was carried on shore in a chair, 
but was received with great kindness and hospitality by 
such of the Indians as remembered his former voyage. 

He now dispatched Captain Keymis, who was well ac- 
quainted with the country, to sail into the Oronooko in 
search of the mine, and intrusted him with the command 
of five small ships, manned with the most valiant portion 
of the crew and officers, among whom were Lord North 
and Lord Mounteagle. The forces of this devoted and en- 
terprising band were divided into five companies, one of 
which was commanded by Captain Ralegh, who was des- 
tined never to return. Another was conducted by George 
Ralegh, a nephew of Sir Walter's, who thus ventured his 
best and dearest connexions in the cause, in the success 
of which he was so nearly interested ; and concerning 
which, he may, without severity, be said to have displayed 
some degree of infatuation. As the unfortunate adven- 
turers passed up the river, the Spaniards, who had been 
apprized by intelligence from England of their proceedings, 
attacked them both with muskets and ordnance. The first 
assault was, therefore, made on the side of the Spaniards, 
but the English soon drove them out of St. Thomas, a new 
town belonging to .the Spaniards, and situated on the 

* Remains, 226. f Letter to Winwood, Remains, 226. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 227 

Oronooko. In this action, the dauntless youth, Walter 
Raleofh, " more desirous of honor than safety," was killed : 
" with whom," said the agonized father, " to say truth, all 
the respects of this world have taken end in me.*" Of 
this event Ralegh was informed by Keymis, in a letter, 
dated from Oronooko on the 8th of January, and beginning- 
in a manner calculated to excite parental apprehensions. 
" All things that appertain to human condition," began 
this veteran companion, " in that proper nature and sense 
which of fate and necessity belongeth unto them, being 
now over with your son, maketh me to choose rather, with 
grief, to let you know from me the certain truth, than un- 
certain lies from others, which is, viz. — that had not his 
extraordinary valor and forwardness, (which, with constant 
vigor of mind, being in the hands of death, his last breath 
expressed in these words, ' Lord have mercy on me, and 
prosper your enterprise,') led them all on, when some be- 
gan to pause and recoil shamefully, this action had neither 
been attempted as it was, nor performed as it is, with this 
surviving honor. f" That the son was worthy of his ener- 
getic and dauntless parent may be inferred from this sim- 
ple account : that he was deeply and incessantly mourned 
by that parent, is evident from the perpetual and touching 
allusions which Ralegh, in every narrative of this unhappy 
affair, makes to his memory and early fate. This part of 
his history requires, however, no comment. Those, who 
have been happy enough to escape the severest of all earth- 
ly privations, the loss of a child in the bloom and promise 
of youth, may easily comprehend the extent of his sor- 
rows ; those who have encountered a similar calamity, will 
too readily feel it. The particular details of his son's deatii 
were afterwards too soon communicated to Ralegh, sick, 
both in body and mind, at Trinidad, where he had prom- 
ised to await the return of the detachment. The troops 
commanded by Keymis had departed from Ralegh's in- 
structions in landing near St. Thomas, instead of pursuing, 
through the country, that real or imaginary track which he 
had designated to them as conducting to the gold mine 
which they sought. Thus, attacked by the Spaniards, and 
brought into immediate contact with the governor of the 
fort, young Ralegh was borne down by the but-end of a 



* Loiter to VVinwootl. < See Kcvinis's Letter. 



S28 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

Spanish muslcet, in the hands of a commander whom he 
pursued at the head of a company of pikes. The English 
captain's sergeant quickly revenged the death of his mas- 
ter, by thrusting his halberd into the body of the Spanisli 
officer. Two other officers, and the governor himself, fell 
in the engagement: the inhabitants of St. Thomas took 
shelter in the market-place, whence they committed great 
havoc on the assailants, who, in an evil hour, but, as they 
contended, for self-defence, were induced to set fire to the 
town. The garrison retreated to the woods and moun- 
tains, still harassing their English foes, and steadily guard- 
ing all avenues to the interior of the country, where, as it 
was supposed even after Ralegh's death, several valuable 
mines were situated.* 

Of this affair, especially with regard to the share which 
young Ralegh took in it, various and contradictory ac- 
counts were ti'ansmitted. It was the current report of the 
day,f and afterwards asserted by royal proclamation, that 
this young commander, on leading his soldiers forward to 
the town, exclaimed, " Come on, my hearts, here is the 
mine that we expect, they that look for any other are 
fools. J" This anecdote, whether true or false, tends not 
however to substantiate, as King James infers, the opinion 
that the mine of Guiana was an airy scheme, uncredited 
by the followers of Ralegh, and sketched out by him only 
for the purpose of obtaining liberty to try the ground of 
enterprise, cherishing at the same time some sinister and 
unavowed motive. The thoughtlessness of youth, to whom 
the present time and the nearest object are ever most im- 
portant, may have induced the unexperienced and daring 
officer to tempt his soldiers with the prospect of immediate 
booty, as most attainable and precious. It is, however, 
probable, from the silence of Keymis on this point, that the 
speech was fabricated by some of the many individuals 
whom Ralegh found reason to regard, even among his own 
officers, as enemies and calumniators. 

On the 18th of January, Keymis prepared to proceed to 
the mine, which was situated, according to report, at the 
distance of eiglit miles only from the town. It is remarka- 
ble that he saw neither coin nor bullion in St, Thomas, al- 

• Birch, i. 7B. t HowpH's Lptters, Oxf- c'lif ■ nf Ralfigh, vol. viii. 

t Olriys, note, fol. 203. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER UALEGH. 229 

though the principal houses, as he affirms in liis letter to 
Ralegh, were those belonging to gold refiners.* Encour- 
aged by the representations of a Mulatto servant, who had 
been in the service of the Governor, and who positively 
described the precise situation of several mines, Keymis, 
accompanied by three of his principal officers, attempted to 
land on an unexplored part of the shores of the Oronooko, 
but was driven back by an ambuscade of Spaniards, with 
the loss of two of his men, and the complete disablement 
of one officer. The repulse overpowered the resolution of 
the captain, who was either inexcusably timid in his mili- 
tary operations, or secretly deficient in confidence with 
respect to the object which it was his mission to seek. It 
may readily be supposed, that the last inference wa^too 
readily drawn by those who had either but little reliShce 
on Ralegh's sincerity, or who had private motives for put- 
ting the worst construction on his conduct. The fact of 
Keymis's desertion of his search, upon a partial success, 
checked only by a trifling defeat, is indeed remarkable; 
and, if the intentions of a commander of an expedition are 
always to be estimated by the proceedings of his officers, 
extremely injurious to Ralegh's reputation. 

Struck with panic, or actuated by treachery, Keymis set 
sail, and proceeded down the river to Punto de Gallo, a 
port near Trinidad, where Ralegh had awaited his return 
in the greatest anxiety, both for tidings of his success, and 
lest the Spanish fleet, which, as he had been apprized, was 
arrived to attack him, should overwhelm him with its une- 
qual forces during the absence of that portion of his land 
and sea forces which Keymis commanded. Sickness had 
enfeebled his men, and impaired his own powers of exer- 
tion ; and treachery had contaminated his crew. It was 
his custom, and probably his delight, to go on shore from 
time to time, to make observations both of a botanical and 
mineralogical nature ; thus refreshing his spirits with the 
consolatory investigations of Nature's stores, curious, and 
in many respects bounteous, in that region. In a journal 
which he wrote of part of this expedition, and which has 
been preserved in the British Museum amongst the manu- 
scripts of his friend Sir Robert Cotton, Ralegh minutely 
describes the productions of the countiy which he, in this 



* Olilys, 204, from Ralegh's Apology, p. 30. 

u 



230 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

manner, industriously explored.* But whilst he was thus 
beneficially engaged, a rumor that his ships were loaded 
with treasure to a large amount, tempted a considerable 
number of his crew to discuss the expediency of leaving 
him on those shores, a prey to wild beasts, or to the Span- 
iards, who had already wreaked their vengeance upon 
some of the English by flaying them alive, f The distress 
produced in the mind of Ralegh by these various circum- 
stances, received the bitterest aggravation when Keymis, 
with his detachment, joined him in February at Punto de 
Gallo, after an absence of two months ; a period fraught 
with events productive of destruction to that unhappy offi- 
cer himself, and with disgrace and eventual ruin to the 
unfortunate Ralegh. The intelligence, which Keymis 
bro^ht, was rendered doubly mortifying by the fact that 
even on his return down the Oronooko, a chance had been 
rejected by him of retrieving the honor of the expedition, 
proposals of tlie most tempting character having been made 
to him by some Guaian chiefs who had remembered Ralegh 
in his former expedition, and who held a part of that coun- 
try in nominal trust for Queen Elizabeth. J The plea which 
Keymis made for refusing the assistance of these people 
was that he apprehended treachery, and collusion with the 
Spaniards. But Ralegh, to whose ardent mind, this reluc- 
tance to incur some portion of risk for the sake of all that 
could be valuable to a man so pledged and so involved as 
himself, appeared the basest pusillanimity, contended with 
justice that Keymis might have waited till the promised 
ore, with which the Indians lured them to return, had been 
brouglit to their vessels ; and he disputed the probability 
of treachery on the part of these natives, since they had 
ofiered to leave six hostages for one. His judgment on this 
point was possibly correct ; unhappily, the fatal error was 
irreclaimable. 

Wlien Ralegh and Keymis met, it was only to receive 
reproaches and the effusions of Iteen disappointment on one 
side, and to pour forth ineffectual excuses on the otlier. 
After some days of recrimination and mutual dissatisfac- 
tion, Keymis entered Ralegh's cabin, and showing him a 
letter which he had written to the Earl of Arundel, exten- 
uating his conduct, entreated Ralegh to " allow of his 

^* Titus, B. VIIL.Oldys, 204. tOWys, 304. t Ralegh's Apology. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 231 

apology." But Ralegh, in the bitterness of his heart, and 
with a severity to his old companion in arms only to be 
excused by the poignancy of disappointment, told him that 
he had undone him by his obstinacy, and that he would not 
" favor nor color in any sort his former folly." Jveymis 
asked him "if that were his determination?" to which 
Ralegh replied that it was his fixed resolution. The un- 
happy Keymis then said, "I know not then. Sir, what 
course to take :" and retiring to his cabin shot himself 
through the ribs, and stabbed hunself to the heart. Ra- 
legh, unsuspicious of his design, sent to know who had 
fired the pistol, when he was answered by Keymis, lying 
on his bed, that he had discharged it because it had been 
long loaded. With this reply Ralegh was satisfied ; but 
half an hour afterwards, a boy going into the cabin, found 
the wretched officer quite dead, with a long knife plunged 
• into his heart, and a pistol, the first instrument with which 
he had attempted suicide, lying near him, the bullet having 
merely broken a rib, and proceeded no farther. The knife, 
with which the fatal deed was accomplished, was then re- 
sorted to for the destructive purpose.* 

Of this catastrophe, Ralegh wrote an account to Sir 
Ralph Winwood, declaring in the same letter, that if he 
had not been deserted by some of his captains, he would 
have left his body at St. Thomas's by his son's, or have 
brought with him out of that or other mines so much gold 
ore as should have satisfied the King. " I propounded," 
adds he, " ho vain thing ; what shall become of me I know 
not : I am unpardoned in England, and my poor estate con- 
sumed, and whether any prince will give me bread or no, 
I know not. I desire your Honor to hold me in your good 
opinion ; to remember my service to my Lord of Arundel 
and Pembrook ; to take some pity on my poor wife, to 
whom I dare not write for renewing her sorrow for her 
son ; and beseech you to give a copy of this to my Lord 
Carew : for to a broken mind, a sick body, and weak eyes, 
it is a torment to write many letters. f" To Lady Ralegh, 
he shortly afterwards addressed a letter, the model of such 
compositions for simplicity, tenderness, and deep feeling, 
both for him he had lost, and for her, the unhappy maternal 
survivor of a gallant and promising youth. J 

» RrIp^Ii's Apology in Cuylpy, ii. 10.5. 

f Kalpglis Remains, "ill t Ibid. 285. 



232 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

It was now determined in a council of war, that Ralegh 
and his fleet should return to Newfoundland, to repair and 
clean the ships. It was, however, deemed necessary by 
Ralegh, to send home several disaftected persons, described 
in his own pithy terms as " good for nothmg, neither by 
sea nor by land," under the charge of one of the many 
relatives who accompanied him. On arriving at New- 
foundland, mutiny broke out among his men, some of whom 
inclined to remaining abroad, whilst others were clamorous 
for returning home. It was afterwards affirmed in the 
King's declaration, that Ralegh offered his own ship, which 
was of great value, to any of the company, if they would 
set him in a French bark ; and that he repeated the same 
proposition when arrived on the coast of Ireland, being 
" loth," afe he said, " to put his head under the King's 
girdle." He took, however, the part most creditable to his 
innocency, and most fatal to his earthly career, and return- 
ed to the British dominions. 

The intelligence of Ralegh's disasters were first conveyed 
to James, by Captain John North, the brother of Lord 
North, who had accompanied the expedition to Guiana, 
and who was greatly esteemed by Ralegh for his valor, 
and fidelity, in that luckless undertaking. These tidings 
were transmitted to the English Monarch on the 13th of 
May, 1G18.* They arrived at an epoch when James's an- 
ticipation of a marriage between the Prince Charles, and 
the second daughter of the King of Spain, were at their 
height ; when the Queen, Anne of Denmark, the firm, and 
to the last, the unalterable friend of Ralegh,t was suspect- 
ed to be insane ; whilst Gondemar, whose private senti- 
ments on the subject are fully exemplified in a. letter from 
him in Frencli, preserved in the Sancroft Collection, still 
remained in the Englisli Court, to flatter James with propo- 
sals for the arrangement of the marriage articles, and to 
exclaim against the infringement of the treaty between 
Spain and England, which he declared to have been mani- 
fested by Ralegh's plunder of St. Thomas. It was, indeed, 
obvious to all observers of the strange events of the day, 
that Ralegh, who had formerly been accused of a treasonable 

* Camden's Annals. 

t Letter from Hear.ics llomingford. See Oxford edit, of Ralegh's 
Works'. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 233 

co-operation with the emissaries of Spain, was now on the 
eve of being' sacrificed to her resentments. Gondemar, as 
it was remarked by a contemporary, " would never give 
him over until he had his head off his shoulders.*" The 
chief apprehensions entertained by the Spanish Govern- 
ment, related to the interception of their conquests, and 
the injury of their trade and property in the West Indies ; 
and Gondemar had already given such a coloring to the 
exploits of Ralegh, as the forcible and invidious repetition 
of the word "pirate," in the presence of James, could 
convey.f Meanwhile the King congratulated himself on 
the success of his manoeuvres, in not permitting to his ad- 
venturous subject the benefit of his royal pardon, by which 
any fliture proceedings against him would have been in- 
volved in considerable difficulty. For by a private assu- 
rance to Ralegh, previous to his departure for Guiana, he 
had pledged himself to keep his projects secret, if Ralegh 
would confide them to him ; an intimation being conveyed 
to him before his exit from the Tower to that effect, of 
which a written document was afterwards, by some means, 
transmitted to the Spanish Ministers.| Thus the weak pol- 
icy of James was, in this instance, defeated ; and, whilst 
resolving to sacrifice Ralegh to the vengeance of Spain, 
he was obliged, as it afterwards proved, to have recourse 
to the sentence formerly passed, concerning the communi- 
cations held by Ralegh with the agents of that country. 

Previous to Ralegh's arrival on the coast of Ireland, 
whither he first bent his course on his return to England, 
opinions in his native country differed widely as to the 
nature of his alleged piracies, and the degrees of legal 
guilt to be affixed to his adventurous proceedings. By his 
friends, his services, his sufferings, and his heavy expenses 
in his voyage, were earnestly proclaimed. Even those who 
were comparatively indifferent to his safety, contended 
that the plundering of St. Thomas was an act committed 
beyond the equator, where the articles of peace between 
Spain and England do not extend :^ and the first intelli- 
gence of the action was communicated to King James with 
great caution, and with much pathetic description, by 

♦ Howell's Letter to Sir J. Crofts, viii. 783. f Ibid. vol. viii. p. 747. 
t Howell's Letters, Ralegh's Works, viii 750 § Ibid. 

IT 2 



234 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

Captain North, and all aggravation of the circumstances 
avoided. 

But this forbearance was unavailing, and the obstinate 
and implacable conduct of James, after the first announce- 
ment of Ralegh's disasters, and the subserviency of his min- 
isters and courtiers, were all fully explained in the course 
of the summer, when Gondemar sailed in July for Spain, 
bearing with him the articles of the proposed marriage be- 
tween PrincQ, Charles and his intended Spanish bride.* 
Accordingly, an immoderate degree of haste was mani- 
fested in the proceedings against the unfortunate object of 
Spanish vengeance, a proclamation against him being is- 
sued by the King on the 11th of June, some weeks pre- 
vious to his landing in England.f By this measure, the 
King's " utter dislike and detestation of the violences and 
excesses," said, by Gondemar's report, to liave been com- 
mitted upon the territories of his " dear brother of Spain," 
were strongly put forth ; and all persons who could supply 
information upon the subject, were exhorted upon their 
" duty and allegiance" to repair to the Privy Council to 
make known their " whole kiiowledge and understanding 
concerning the same.J" 

Meanwhile conjectures varied with regard to the proba- 
bility of Sir Walter's return — the world, wondering, as a 
contemporary expresses it, that " so great a wise man as 
Sir Walter Ralegh would return to cast himself on so in- 
evitable a rock as it was to be feared he would." In despite 
of this wonderment, Ralegh, after touching with his dilapi- 
dated ships and dispirited companions at Kingsdale in Ire- 
land, arrived in Plymouth in the beginning of July, and 
resolved to surrender himself immediately into the hands 
of those who were commissioned by the King to apprehend 
him. Whether this act were the effect of a high sense of 
honor, and of justice to his own character ; whether it 
arose from desperation, or proceeded from a fatal reliance 
upon the goodness of his cause, are points upon which con- 
siderable doubt must always rest. His conduct on this 
mournful occasion, is, however, decisively in favor of his 
innocence with respect to the charges brought against 

* Cayley, ii. 145. 

t Cayley, 137, from Ryiuer's Fcedera, xvii. p. 92. 

t Ibid. § Howell. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 235 

him, of having purposed merely to accumulate wealth in 
his expedition to Guiana, without any intention of return- 
ing to his country. Fortunately he was accompanied, dur- 
ing his journey from Plymouth to London, the last which 
he ever made, by an old companion in service. Captain 
Samuel King, who has left a succinct account of the in- 
tentions and measures pursued by his unfortunate com- 
mander, from his arrival in the harbor erf" Plymouth to his 
final entrance into London.* 

By the narrative of this veteran it appears, that Ralegh, 
on hearing, before he landed, of the royal proclamation 
against him, instantly determined upon the step which ap- 
peared to him most honorable and expedient, and, that his 
intentions might be clearly shown, sent his sails ashore, 
and moored his ship, immediately after touching shore 
himself Thus, after a year's absence, regaining the coast 
of his native land, and of his beloved Devonshire, only to 
renew the distresses, and to be the object of persecutions 
which seemed, during his later years, to constitute his 
destiny ; or, to speak the language of those who trust in 
the consoling belief of a superintending power, to fill up 
the cup of afflictions which Providence had assigned to 
him. 

It was Ralegh's fate, not only to endure the malice of 
the world, but to receive its sharpest stings by the imme- 
diate agency of persons from whom he might reasonably 
have expected neutrality, if not fidelity and attachment. 
On his first attainder, it was Cobham, his once familiar as- 
sociate, who pointed the venomed shafts of falsehood against 
him. On his last imprisonment, it was a kinsman. Sir 
Lewis Stucley, who not only undertook for a liberal reward 
to apprehend him, but inflicted an injury even more serious, 
by calumnious misrepresentations of his conduct during his 
charge of the illustrious prisoner. Stucley, who was at 
this time vice-admiral of Devon, met afterwards witli 
some portion of retribution from the avoidance and oppro- 
brium of the world. Unhappily, it is not to such minds as 
his, that the loss of honor conveys its severest stings. 
Coveting the accumulation of wealth, he "had his re- 
ward ;" and probably felt not the punishment which the 

* Oldys, 209. The narrative of King has never been published, but it 
was Been, and carefully followed, by Oldys. 



236 LIFE ("F SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

justice of civilized society might be supposed to inflict. 
Meanwhile the sanguine nature of Ralegh's disposition in- 
clined him still to rely upon mercy, which never was to 
be extended to him, or upon justice, of which there was 
but the name during the prevalence of Spanish gold, and 
the influence of Spanish intrigues at the English court. 
He heard, indeed, reports concerning Gondemar's contin- 
uance in London' solely with the intention to effect his 
ruin, yet he continued firm to his first resolution. Gonde- 
mar departed, however, from London, three weeks be- 
fore the arrival of Ralegh there, but not before he had 
placed affairs in such a train as best suited his instructions : 
it has been also stated by some authors, that in addition to 
the incentives occasioned by motives of national policy, he 
had those of private dislike and malignity towards Ralegh, 
to heighten the eagerness with which he pursued his suit.* 
Yet, this expert diplomatist was unable wholly to succeed, 
even with the " Caledonian Solomon," whose heart he is 
said to have beguiled with his tales and witticisms, with- 
out employing the agency of bribes and presents, with 
which he efl^ectually plied the English courtiers before he 
bade farewell to their country.f 

It was in vain, therefore, that Ralegh addressed to the 
misguided and prejudiced monarch upon whose mercy he 
had cast himself, a letter, replete with sound argument in 
favor of his innocence and loyalty.J This address, after 
enumerating the aggravations received from the Spaniards 
by the English, and the precedents of retaliation on the 
part of our countrymen, concludes with this eloquent ap- 
peal to the compassion and justice of the King : — " If I 
have spent my poor estate, lost my son, suffered by sick- 
ness, and otherwise, a world of hardships ; if I have resisted, 
with manifest hazard of my life, the robberies and spoils 
with which my companions would have made me rich ; if, 
when I was poor, I could have made myself rich; if, when 
I had gotten my liberty, which all men and nature itself 
do most prize, I voluntarily lost it ; if, when I was sure of 
my life, I rendered it again ; if I might elsewhere have 
sold my ship and goods, and put five or six thousand 
pounds in my purse, and yet brought her into England ; 1 
beseech your Majesty to believe that all this I have done. 



* Oldys, 210. t Ibid., note. J Ralegh's Remains, duod. 



LIFE OF SIU WALTER RALEGH. 237 

because it should not be said that'your Majesty liad given 
liberty and trust to a man whose end was but the recovery 
of his liberty, and who had betrayed your Majesty's trust." 
This simple exposition of Ralegh's motives, was followed 
by an act equally honorable to him, — the commencement 
of his journey to the metropolis. Before, however, he 
could reach Ashburton, a town twenty miles from Ply- 
mouth, he was arrested by Sir Lewis Stucley, who, in the 
eagerness of an obsequious and interested courtier, com- 
menced operations previous to the receiving his commis- 
sion from the King. The address of this man to Ralegh, 
contained the intimation tha* he had orders for arresting 
him and his ship ; " a falsehood, which was received with 
calmness, and answered, by Ralegh's informing him that he 
had saved him that trouble, and done it to his hand.*" 
They returned together to Plymouth, and lodged at the 
house of Sir Christopher Harris, where Ralegh was so ill 
guarded by Stucley, that lie sometimes failed to see him 
for two or three days. In this interval, the operations of 
fear, and the temptations induced by that love of life and 
liberty incident to human nature, excited in the unfortu- 
nate Ralegh a strong desire to make one desperate eftbrt 
for the recovery of freedom. With this view, he prevailed 
upon his friend. Captain King, to procure him a bark to 
convey him to France, and paid, as it was stated, twelve 
crowns for the passage, pretending that it was a gentleman 
known to him, who desired to pass into that country.f 
The vessel was detained four days at anchor beyond the 
limits to which the authority of the Plymouth garrison ex- 
tended, but Ralegh never ascended her deck : for although 
one night he had certainly resolved to avail himself of this 
resource, procured a small boat to convey him and his 
faithful companion. King, to the ship, and had actually 
proceeded some distance towards the object of his destina- 
tion, he altered his resolution, and returned ; deeming it, 
perhaps, better to risk the event of renewed persecutions, 
than to incur dishonor, and reproach, by flight. Yet, even 
the severest judges could scarcely have censured one who 
had suffered so mercilessly, for insuring his own safety, 

* Oldys, 12. from King. 

t Oldys apud King. Declaration of King James, Cayley, ii. 434. Ap 
pendix. 



238 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

and avoiding a fresh encounter of shameless injustice and 
oppression. Ralegh returned to a tyrannical master, and 
to an unthankful country ; and he would have been amply 
justified in escaping from the snares prepared for his de- 
struction. But, whether induced by heroism which we 
must admire yet regret ; or actuated by fears of the conse- 
quences which might accrue to his family ; or influenced 
by a fatal reliance upon the faith of James, who had not 
only virtually but literally authorized his expedition; he 
did return, and unsuspected of any design of escape, after 
engaging the vessel for one night more, relinquished all 
thought of emigration. ^ ^ 

Such is the acconnt given of his movements by Captain 
King, who has established his own veracity by the bold 
avowal of the share which he took in promoting Ralegh's has- 
tily abandoned schemes. It was, however, as.serted in the 
royal apology for Ralegh's wrongs,* that the darkness of the 
night frustrated their plans ; a statement which is refuted 
by King's allegation, that if Sir Walter had been willing 
to have rowed a quarter of a mile further, they might have 
met the bark. Besides, as he remarks, if that night would 
not have served, one of the other three would have been 
available for the proposed flight, the wind being fair, and 
the tide falling out conveniently. 

Stucley having at length received his commission, pre- 
pared to set out with his prisoner, whom he was instructed 
not to hasten more than his health would permit. One 
Mannourie, a Frenchman, was added to their travelling 
suite, an acquisition apparently intended for the accommo- 
dation of Ralegh, but eventually contributing to his de- 
struction. 

Ralegh was now joined by his wife, and was received on 
his journey at the houses of several of his friends and ac- 
quaintance, from whom he speedily learned the machina- 
tions of his enemies at court. He now, too late, regretted 
that he had allowed the season for retreat to pass away, 
lamenting it to Lady Ralegh, and to King, who told him, 
" that he could blame no one but himself," for his resolution 
to continue in England.f But upon the arrival of a mes- 
senger to expedite his journey to the metropolis, his mind 
became agitated, and eager for a fresh project of escape 

* See the King's Declaration, in Cayley, ii. 434. f Oldys, 213. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 239 

until the influence of Spain and the fury of his enemies 
should have subsided, after the . fashion of political rancor 
and of political factions. Yet he still, as his veteran com- 
panion asserted, declared, that "no misery should make 
him disloyal to his king and his country." And never, even 
in the extremity of desperation, was he heard to name His 
Majesty but with a degree of respect which James can 
hardly be thought to have merited. 

In pursuance of the project which he now seriously 
meditated, Ralegh, on arriving at Salisbury, where the 
King had recently been on his progress, dispatched Captain 
King to London to provide a boat at Tilbury, desiring him 
to employ, on this occasion, a man named Cotterell, who 
had been in Ralegh's service. When King arrived in Lon- 
don, he was, however, prevailed upon by Cotterell to in- 
trust a boatswain of his, named Hart, with the office of 
furnishing a wherry. King unguardedly complied with this 
advice, proffered the perfidious boatswain thirty pieces of 
silver for his assistance and secrecy, and paid him, for some 
time, 10 keep the boat in readiness at Tilbury. By Hart the 
whole scheme vyas however disclosed and eventually frus- 
trated. On the 7th of August, Ralegh arrived in London, 
whence he was anxious to proceed to Tilbury on the same 
night, but was told by King that the arrangements for his 
departure were not completed. And now the intelligence 
of his schemes having transpired, Stucley was empowered 
by his employers to tamper with Ralegh by feigning ac- 
quiescence in those plans, without, himself, incurring sus- 
picion or reproof The object of thus ensnaring him whose 
ruin was already determined, was to justify his seizure to 
the public ; to become eft'ectually possessed of any private 
documents which he might carry about him, and to certify 
to the world his intention to escape.* Meanwhile Ralegh 
had received offers from the agent of the French king to 
furnish him with a bark, and other means of assistance in 
his escape, a proposal which he declined upon the plea of 
the French vessel not being in readiness. Thus he again 
missed an opportunity of flight, from which it is more than 
probable the machinations of his enemies could not have 
detained him. 

On Sunday the 9th of August, Sir Walter repaired to a 

♦Oklyp, 118. 



240 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGn. 

certain place of rendezvous on the Thames, appointed by 
Captain King, who awaited him there with two wherries. 
He^was accompanied by Sir Lewis Stucley, and by his son, 
young Stucley, whom Ralegh was credulous enough to be- 
lieve interested in the success of his scheme. His sole at- 
tendant was a page. The unfortunate and persecuted pris- 
oner was disguised with a false beard, wearing a hat with 
a green hatband. He had provided merely a cloak-bag and 
four pistols, which were put into the boat. The traitor 
Stucley then asked the anxious friend of Ralegh, Captain 
King, this suspicious question, whether "he had not dis- 
tinguished himself an honest man ?" To this inquiry King 
returned the cautious answer, " that he hoped he would 
continue so." 

After the party had entered the boats and had rowed 
some paces, they were informed by the watermen that Mr. 
Herbert, to whom Hart had revealed the plot, was also on 
the river and in pursuit of them. This intelligence excited 
Ralegh's fears ; but he was reassured by Stucley^ whtt 
threatened to kill the watermen if they did not proceed, 
and feigned concern at having ventured his fortunes and 
safety with a man so full of doubts and apprehensions as 
Ralegh. As they approached Greenwich, the sudden 
glimpse of a boat again inspired Ralegh with suspicions of 
treachery and pursuit, but King persuaded him to proceed, 
with assurances of reaching Tilbury in safety. But in these 
delays the serving of the tide was disregarded, until the 
watermen declared it to be impossible to arrive at Graves- 
end till morning. Upon hearing of this disaster Ralegh 
was almost resolved to land at Purfleet, an idea which was 
encouraged both by Hart and by Stucley ; the former prom- 
ising to procure him horses to Tilbury, and the latter oifer- 
ing to carry the cloak-bag for the distance of half-a-mile 
after landing : but the faithful and cautious Captain King 
negatived the proposal, assuring Ralegh that if they could 
not reacli Gravesend by water, it were impossible to com- 
pass that distance by land, in the dead of night and without 
the certainty of procuring horses. ' 

During these debates they passed Woolwich ; and now 
Ralegh became fully sensible of the dangers by which he 
was assailed, althougli he was still ignorant of the treachery 
by which these perils were contrived, and directed to his 
ruin. After onf^ountering several small boats, it became 



LIKK OK t:IK WAl.TKll KALLtiH. 241 

evident to him that ihey contained llio emissaries of Her- 
hnvt, whom he had been instructed to consider as commis- 
sioned by James to apprehend him. He still, however, con- 
fided in Stucley, who kept up the appearance of friendly 
interest in his esc^e, promising to return with him to his 
own liouse, and ^mrucing his deluded prisoner with an af- 
fectation of regard which put the finishing touches to the 
character of this accomplished villain. The betrayed and 
the betrayer retraced their watery way to Greenwich, 
where, Stucley pretending that ho dared not carry Ralegh 
farther, they landed. Here they encountered the boats 
which had before alarmed Ralegh, which now proved to be 
full of men in the service of Mr. William Herbert, and of 
Sir William St. John, who had formerly procured Ralegh's 
liberation on the payment of a sum of money. As Cap- 
tain King, with his unfortunate master, passed over 
Greenwich Bridge, Stucley made an attempt upon the 
fidelity of King, advising him to appear to the world to 
concur in the plot for delivering Ralegh into the hands of 
iiis enemies. But this proposal was rejected with indigna- 
tion by the gallant officer, who was immediately arrested 
by Stucley, and committed to the charge of two of Her- 
bert's men. Tlie party entered a tavern, in which King 
heard Ralegh utter this calm but expressive reproach to 
the contemptible Stucley. " Sir Lewis, these actions will 
not turn out to your credit." On the ensuing day Ralegh 
was conducted to the Tower ; and on entering this well- 
known edifice, he observed to King that he " was himself 
the mark shot at," but that King need not apprehend the 
consequences of this aflair. The dejected and disappointed 
officer was then obliged to take a last farewell of the mas- 
ter for whom he had risked so much ; leaving him, as he 
touchingly expressed it, in the guardianship of that Provi- 
dence " with whom," said he, " I do not doubt but his soul 
resteth." 

Such was the tissue of treachery, coarsely contrived, and 
carelessly executed, by which the final destruction of Ra- 
legh was efl^ected. That he could rush into a snare prepar- 
ed with so little address, would excite surprise, were it not 
remembered how often desperation umierves the strongest, 
and blinds the most acute minds. A species of fatality, as 
the superstitious may consider it, seems, indeed, to have in- 
volved the last years of Ralegh's existence. His resolu- 



'M2 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEOH, 

tion appears to have wavered, and liis credulity to have 
preponderated over the caution which his situation pecu- 
liarly required. When it would be probable and natural 
that he should, from mournful experience, distrust all men, 
he accorded his confidence to those w^hose deeds were 
equivocal, and whose worldly interest^Bfight be promoted 
by his ruin. The vivid perceptions of that mind which 
could investigate the concerns of past ages, and dive into 
those of the future with almost prophetic scan, were ob- 
scured when his own immediate and important aftairs were 
pressed upon him by emergencies, which, whilst they al- 
most broke a heart worn out with contending emotions, 
weakened the faculties of an understanding, such as few 
men could boast of possessing. 

But the tragedy of Ralegh's life was how nearly draw- 
ing to a conclusion, and the repose of the grave, purchased 
by the agonies of an ignominious death, was soon to be his 
portion. On the 10th of August, he had again been con- 
signed as a prisoner to that gloomy residence with which 
he was already but too well acquainted. It is probable 
that he was here joined by Lady Ralegh, although that fact 
has not been specifically mentioned ; yet she who had fol- 
lowed him in his good and ill fortunes was little likely to 
desert him in tlie last extremity. 

A committee was, in a few days, appointed to examine 
into the details and rhotives of Ralegh's intended flight, 
which was decried as an heinous offence, and as a distrust 
of the King's mercy never to be forgiven by the royal per- 
sonage, whose mercies, as they were called, had been for- 
merly so graciously extended.* Yet considerable interest 
was still exerted for one whose sufferings and whose ser- 
vices were, in the minds of the impartial, the sou^-ces of 
commiseration and subjects of praise. The Queen, with a 
generous earnestness which redeems the frivolity of her 
character, wrote to the Villiers, now Marquis of Bucking- 
ham, whom she addressed as her " kinde dogge," entreat- 
ing him, as she had any favor or credit with him, " to let 
her have a trial of it at this time, in dealing earnestly and 
sincerely with the King, that Sir Walter Ralegh's life 
might not be called in question.!" 

Lord Carew, the relative and constant friend of Ralegh, 

♦ Oldys, 221. t Cayley, ii. 137. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGIf. 243 

had already, on his knees, interceded witli the King in his 
behalf, but was answered by the remark from his Majesty, 
" that it were as well to hang him as deliver him to the 
King of Spain, who assuredly would ;" and " one of these 
two things he must do, if the case were as the Spanish 
anibassador had ^Presented it." And when Lord Carew 
still entreated for mercy, he was dismissed with the obser- 
vation, that " the most he could expect was that the King 
would give him a hearing.*" But, whilst Ralegh's friends 
earnestly desired a legal investigation into his case, and 
confidently expected that he would make his cause good, 
they anticipated not the perversion of law, and the depar- 
ture from every principle of equity by which that promised , 
inquiry was to be characterized, and the fate of the object 
of their solicitude determined. 

Ralegh now resolved to take his cause into his own 
hands ; but though few pens could plead so effectually as 
his, his representations appear not to have received the 
slightest encouragement in this instance. To the Marquis 
of Buckingham, he, with a delicacy suitable to a mind so 
accomplished as his, apologized for presuming to address 
" so great and worthy a person, who had been told that he 
had done him some wrong. I heard of it," he continues, 
" but of late ; but most happy had I been if I might have 
disproved that villany against me, when there had been 
no suspicion that the desire to save my life had presented 
ray excuse. t" 

It is observable that in Ralegh's letters, in many of 
which he had, unhappily, to plead for life, or to sue for 
justice, there prevails a becoming tone of humility and 
supplication, free from abject flattery or from undignified 
lamentation. In the document now referred to, containing 
his last appeal to the intercession of Buckingham, he justi- 
fies himself with a clearness and manliness, distinct from 
the petulance of a rash and arrogant adventurer, and de- 
void of presumption. In all his written communications, 
whether addressed to the great, to his intimate associates, 
or to the beloved members of his family, there pervades 
the true spirit of an accomplished English gentleman. The 
mind fondly dwells upon certain attributes of his character, 
and, with the more tenacity and regret, as we approach 



» rsyl-v. ii IV. t IhifL H:', from Harlrian Coll. 



244 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

the close of so much excellence, the destruction of such 
attainments, greater, and more brilliant in the mournful 
sun-set of Ralegh's existence, than in his meridian of 
glory. 

In his explicit justification of his projected escape, Sir 
Walter avows to Villiers, that " it was t^ last severe let- 
ter from the lords for the bringing of l^^up, and the im- 
patience of dishonor, that put him tirst in fear of his life, or 
enjoying it in perjietual imprisonment, never to recover his 
reputation lost, which strengthened me," he proceeds to 
say, " in my late, and too late lamented resolution, if his 
Majesty's mercy do not abound ; if his Majesty do not pity 
my age, and scorn to take the extreme and utmost advan- 
tage of my errors ; if his Majesty, in his great charity, do 
not make a difference between offences proceeding from a 
life-saving natural impulsion, without an ill intent, and 
those of an ill heart." 

No reply to this letter has been transmitted to us ; and 
it ie but too probable that the exertions of the young and 
prosperous courtier to whom it was addressed, were not 
extended to sustain a cause so weak, and almost liopeless, 
as that of Ralegh. Meanwhile the commissioners who 
were appointed to examine him, were unable even in the 
most minute exercise of their office, and in their daily 
visits to the Tower, to extract from the depositions of his 
late companions in his voyage, any evidence of treasonable 
designs, or of piratical practices.* At the end of the 
King's " Declaration of tlie Demeanor and Carriage of Sir 
Walter Ralegh," &c. the names of these commissioners 
are supposed to have been annexedf; and if that conjecture 
be correct, their testimony to" the truth of the charges con- 
tained in that publication is implied. The allegations 
which James, in the fullness of royal dignity, deemed it ex- 
pedient to publish, by way of apology, after the death of 
his victim, were neither adduced during the life of Ralegli,'"'- 
nor supported by any credible witness after the termina-^ 
tion of his career. The tenor of the Declaration is, in 
fact, so much inflated by exaggeration, and its details have 
so greatly the air of invention, that little importance would 
liave been annexed to it as historical evidence, had it not 
fjeen for the strange, and, apparently, careless credence 

» ()lflv>, I'i'i. t Ibid. 



I-IKK OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 245 

afforded to it by one of the most eminent and elegant of 
historians.* The deductions which he derives from it are 
amply refuted, as far as they relate to the expedition itself, 
by a simple reference to Ralegh's Apology for his last Voy- 
age to Guiana,f a narrative w^hich might have been con- 
tradicted by the united testimony of his whole crew and 
officers, had they been disposed or able to disprove the 
truth of his statements. The alleged details of Sir Wal- 
ter's conduct after his return to England, deserve even less 
consideration by the inquirers into historical truth, than 
his motives and actions during the period of his absence 
from this country. These particulars rest chiefly upon 
the testimony of Mannourie, the French empiric, whom 
the insidious Stucley engaged to accompany him at Ply- 
mouth, under pretext of his attending to Ralegh's health, 
and affording him the alleviation of his advice. It is suf- 
ficient here to state the heads of those calumnies which 
Mannourie, doubtless by the influence of some lucrative 
advantage, was instigated to produce against his patient. 
How lar they were rebutted or acknowledged by Ralegh, 
will appear upon his trial. 

In Mannourie's depositions it is stated, that Sir Walter 
had persuaded the quack to administer to him medicines in 
order to bring on the appearances of violent and dangerous 
disease. Tliis feint was attributed to the desire which he 
naturally felt to gain time, and to be permitted to remain 
at his own residence in London, whence he might easily 
effect his escape. The account of this alleged stratagem is 
given with much circumlocution, and with many frivolous 
and even disgusting details. It is almost incredible that Sir 
Walter should have laid himself open to a man of whom he 
knew but little, in the manner which Mannourie describes. 
It is likewise incredible that he should have had recourse 
to the desperate and absurd contrivances which Mannourie 
describes him to have adopted. They were, however, ad- 
duced not only as proofs of conscious guilt, but as deeds of 
guilt in themselves, as " impostures" " declining his Majes- 
ty's goodness," and thus rendering himself unworthy of his 
Majesty's farther mercy. The question may, however, be 
asked — why, if sufficient evidence could have been adduced 
against Ralegh of fresh schemes agamst government, his 

• Hume. t Cayley, ii. 83 

V2 



246 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

fbnner sentence was, as we shall find, revived, in order to 
give a color of justice to his condemnation! It was, how- 
ever, pretended, " that his former att^ainders for treason be- 
ing the highest and last work of the law," his " Majesty 
was enforced, (except attamders should become privileges 
for all subsetjuent offences,) to resolve to have him-executed 
upon his former attainder.*" 

The council, after deliberating for some time, were una- 
ble to recommend a fresh trial, either on the grounds o*" 
Ralegh's attack upon Guiana, or on the feebler allegations 
against him. The first mode of impeachment would ha\ 9 
acknowledged a cession of the English interest in thfi 
province of Guiana to Spain ; the latter was totally unsup- 
ported except by the evidence of Mannourie and Stucley, 
both now the objects of popular suspicion, and, eventually, 
of universal odium and contempt. 

On the 23d of October, a discussion took place in the 
Privy Council with regard to the mode in which prisoners 
condemned for treason, and set at liberty, could be legally 
executed. In this conference, at which all the judgesiwere 
present, it was determined to send a Privy Seal to the 
Judges of the King's Bench, commanding " them to pro- 
ceed against Ralegh according to law.f " On the ensuing 
day he received notice from the commissioners to prepare 
for death. He was, at this time, ill of an aguish com- 
plaint, which he had, probably, incurred in Guiana, in which 
such diseases are prevalent. From the hot stage of this 
disease the unhappy man was aroused, on the 28th of 
October, at eight o'clock in the morning, and conveyed 
to the Court of King's Bench in Westminster, being taken 
thither by writ of habeas corpus. An account of the pro- 
ceedings against him has been preserved in the Harleian 
Collections, and other authentic sources, and transmitted 
through the medium of the State Trials. 

In the last process against him a writ was first read, 
purporting, " that whereas Sir Walter being long before 
in the presence of divers noble personages, legally convict- 
ed of high treason at Winchester, was then and there ad- 
judged to be hanged, drawn, and quartered." After going 
through this form, the attorney-general rose to make the 
expected harangue upon the case. The person on whom 

* King's Dpc]arat:on. in Cayley. ii. Ufi. 
t fiWys, fronj Hiittnii's Rppni-ls. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. - 247 

this office fell was Henry Yelverton, a man of reputed 
iionor, who had been raised to his present eminence by 
Car, Earl of Rochester, but was destined to experience 
himself the vicissitudes of fortune, through the agency of 
Buckingham, whose corruptions Yelverton afterwards at- 
tempted to oppose.* It is melancholy to reflect, that a man 
of probity and of extensive legal acquirements should have 
been induced or constrained, by his prosecution of Ralegh, 
if not to violate the laws of his country, at least to infringe 
upon the spirit of equity in which those laws are in most 
instances dictated. But, Yelverton, redeeming his charac- 
ter by his subsequent conduct, by his resistance to certain 
patents which Buckingham desired to grant, was, like the 
oppressed individual in whose ruin he now concurred, 
doomed to experience the terrors and anxieties of impris- 
onment, being afterwards committed to the Tower, and 
deprived of his office for a time, although eventually re- 
stored to more than his former honor. His speech was 
concise, and consisted in a mere formal exposition of the 
case, tending rather to compliment, than to confound, and 
vilify the unhappy prisoner. Invective was now unneces- 
sary, and even Coke's vituperations would, perhaps, have 
been silenced by the defenceless nature of Ralegh's situa- 
tion, by his infirmities, and broken spirits, and by the con- 
templation of one so gifted and one so favored, humbled 
beneath the very feet of those above whom he rose proudly 
superior in intellectual eminence. Even Yelverton could 
not, in his address, forbear describing him as a man, " who, 
in regard of his parts and quality, was to be pitied." " Sir 
Walter Ralegh," he continued, " in his time, was a star ; 
yea, and of such nature, that shineth fair ; bu^ out of the 
necessity of state, like stars when they trouble the sphere, 
must indeed fall.f " 

Sir Walter was then asked what he should say for him- 
self) why execution should not be awarded against him f 
He first replied, by apologizing for the weakness of his 
voice by reason of his late sickness, and an ague, in the 
access of which he had been brought before their tribu- 
nal. He also requested the accommodation of pen and ink. 

Being told by Sir Henry Montague, the Lord Chief 
Justice, that " his voice was audible enough," he then pro- 



* Wilson, 734. , t Notp in OUlys. 224. 



248 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ceeded. His expostulations with the court were put forth 
with that moderation and judgment which he well knew 
how to call to his aid upon important occasions. He told 
his judges, that with respect to his former sentence, he had 
conceived himself to be discharged of it, when it had been 
His Majesty's pleasure to grant him a commission to pro- 
ceed on a voyage beyond the seas, wherein he had power, 
as marshal, over the life and death of others. As he pro- 
ceeded to descant upon the circumstances of his voyage to 
Guiana, he was checked by the Lord Chief Justice, who 
informed him that his commission could not in any way 
help him, and did not imply a pardon ; and that " there 
was no word tending to pardon in all his commission ;" 
" therefore," continued he, " you must say something else 
to the purpose, otherwise we must proceed to give execu- 
tion.*" 

Upon perceiving the hopelessness of his case, Ralegh 
forbore further argument, and, throwing himself on the 
mercy of the Kling, said, that with respect to his former 
judgment, some " present could witness, nay, his Majesty 
was of opinion, that he had hard measure therein." 

This appeal, though of course unavailing, was answered 
in a tone of moderation, and with a degree of humane con- 
sideration, which proved how greatly public opinion had 
been altered in his favor since his trial. It was, however, 
thought necessary to assure him that he had an " honorable 
trial," and was justly convicted : he was recommended to 
submit himself, and to confess that his offence had justly 
drawn his former judgment upon him. He was told, that 
for the last fifteen years he had been as a dead man in the 
law, and might in any moment have been cut oft"; that new 
offences had now "stirred up his Majesty's justice" to re- 
vive what the law had formerly cast upon him. " I know," 
continued Montague, " you have been valiant and wise ; 
and I doubt not but you retain both these virtues, for now 
you shall have occasion to use them. Your faith hath here- 
tofore been questioned, but I am resolved you are a good 
Christian, for your book, which is an admirable work, doth 
testify as much. I would give you counsel, but I know 
you can apply unto yourself far better than I am able to 
give you ; yet will I, with the good neighbor in the Gospel, 

♦ Cayley, ii 15;i 



LIFE OF SIR WALTEK RALEGU. 249 

(who finding one wounded and distressed, poured oil into 
his wounds and refreshed him,) give unto you the oil of 
comtbrt, in respect that I am a minister of the law, mixed 
with vineg-ar. Sorrow will not avail you in some kind; 
for were you pained, sorrow would not ease you ; were you 
afflicted, sorrow would not relieve you ; were you torment- 
ed, sorrow would not content you ; and yet the sorrow for 
your sins would be an everlasting comfort to you." With 
these, and similar exhortations, too easily offered to others, 
too hardly applied to oneself, perhaps well meant, yet tam- 
pering, as it were, with the grief they were intended to 
subdue, the Lord Chief Justice concluded the proceedings 
by declaring that "execution was granted." No supplica- 
tions for life, no base confessions with a view to conciliate 
pardon, no abject, flattering encomiums of the King's 
wonted mercy, were heard from the prisoner ; greater, 
perhaps, in this state of unjust condemnation, than in pros- 
perity. He begged merely not to be cut off so suddenly, 
for that he " had something to do hi discharge of his con- 
science, something to satisfy the world in ;" and he " de- 
sired to be heard at the day of his death." In requesting 
this leisure he besought them not to consider that he crav- 
ed one minute of life, for being now old, sickly, in disgrace, 
and certain of death, life was wearisome to him. He said, 
with an empliasis almost approaching to sublimity, that he 
never was disloyal to His Majesty, which he should prove 
where he should not fear the face of any king on earth. 
He concluded his address by beseeching that he might 
have their prayers, and was then conveyed under charge 
of the sheriffs to the Gate-house in Westminster, near tlie 
Palace Yard. 

The king was now in Hertlbrdshire, on his progress, yet 
the warrant for Ralegh's execution was produced immedi- 
ately after tlie passing of the sentence, dated the same 
day, signed, and directed to the Lord Chancellor Verulam. 
The mode of execution was changed from hanging to that 
of beheading only, a commutation of his sentence which 
Ralegh, it may be remembered, had earnestly solicited at 
his former condemnation. The time for which he had pe- 
titioned, on the plea of both temporal and eternal concerns, 
was not however granted. James, who had absented him- 
self from the close of the mournful tragedy which he per- 
mitted to disffrace the annals of his reign, was fearful. 



250 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

probably, of the explosion of popular indignation. Appre- 
hensions of this nature probably hastened the death of Ra- 
legh. Perhaps, in mercy, suspense, which often shakes 
the strongest minds, was not added to the other trials 
which the illustrious sufferer had to encounter. The bit- 
terness of death was past, when its certainty was pro- 
nounced. That, which to the happy, and to the sanguine, 
might be a close to enjoyment and to hope, was to the sor- 
rowing father, the disappointed patriot, the subject be- 
reaved of liberty, and loaded with disgrace, the comtnence- 
ment of a brighter- existence, and the harbinger of peace. 
Happily for Ralegh's fame, and still more happily for his 
peace, his mind could rally under the pressure of severe ■ 
calamities, and was aroused to exertions admirable to 
others, and conferring comfort to his own breast, by the 
presence of powerful excitements, whether of joy, or of 
grief By the regulation of his feelings, and, it may be 
trusted, the elevation of his thoughts to that source whence 
grace to the pure and contrite is never asked in vain, he 
was enabled to reply to the sorrowing observations of his 
friends in a manner worthy of a Christian philosopher. 
" The world," he calmly observed, " was but a large 
prison, out of which some were daily selected for execu- 
tion." 

Dr. Robert Townsbn, Dean of Westminster, and after- 
wards Bishop of Salisbury, who was commanded by the 
Council to be with him, found him not only resigned, but 
a man most fearless of death that ever was known ; and the 
most resolute and confident, yet with reverence and con- 
science. When this divine endeavored to console him, 
he heard from the object of his solicitude that " he had 
never feared death ;" and much less then, for it was but an 
opinion and imagination ; and the manner of death, though 
to others it might seem grievous, yet he had rather die so 
than of a burning fever." And when the conscientious and 
assiduous minister of the gospel sought to probe into his 
soul, and to discover whether that which the condemned 
man described as religious confidence and peace, might not 
be the effect of presumption, or of vain-glory, he was as- 
sured by Ralegh of his conviction that " no man that knew 
God, and feared him, could die with cheerfulness and cour- 
age, except he were assured of the love and favor of God 
towards him." 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 251 

On tlie clay of his execution he received the communion, 
and was " very cheerful and merry," expressing himself to 
Dr. Townson, full of hopes that he should, at his death, 
convince the world of his innocence. He never touched 
upon the grounds of his first trial, but asserted his inno- 
cence of the charges latterly brought against him. 

On the morning after sentence of execution, he met his 
doom. October 29th, the day of his death, was one of fes- 
tivity to many of his fellow-subjects, for it was that then 
usually appropriated to the Lord Mayor's procession. Ra- 
legh, even to the last, behaved with his wonted magna- 
nimity, ate his breakfast as usual, and took tobacco ; reply- 
ing to the observations of those who were with him, that 
he thought no more of his death than if he had been in 
preparation to take a journey. A scaffold was erected in 
the Old Palace Yard, near the Parliament House. This 
last stage to eternity Sir Walter ascended with composure 
and even with cheerfulness, saluting the numerous and 
high-born assemblage, who were present, among whom 
were many with whom he had been long and intimately 
acquainted. His dress, on this solemn occasion, was studied 
with the same precision and attention to decorum that he 
had ever observed in his attire. It was grave but costly, 
and adapted at once to the accommodation of his infirmi- 
ties, and to the situation in which he was placed on this 
last occasion of his life. Drooping with sickness, and 
broken with calamities and ill-requited services, his appear- 
ance may probably have suggested to the beholders the re- 
flection, that had the ax of the executioner spared him 
but for a brief space of time, the visitations of disease, and 
the course of nature, would have relieved King James of 
his supposed and dreaded enemy. It must, indeed, have 
been an afflicting, as it was a disgraceful spectacle, to be- 
hold age, under its most venerable and pitiable aspect, thus 
exposed to a fate which, even in its softened form, could 
not be regarded but as one full of opprobrium and of se- 
verity. 

After silence had been proclaimed. Sir Walter addre^^red 
the bystanders, requesting them, if they perceived in him 
any weakness of voice, or faltering of manner, to attribute 
them to the languor of disease, with which he was attacked 
by intermission, and that this was the wonted hour of its 
approach. After a short pause lie sat down, and turning 



252 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

towards a window, in which were placed the Earls of 
Arundel, Northampton, and Doncaster, he continued, " I 
thank God that he hath brought me to die in the light, and 
not in darkness." But fearing that his voice was inaudible, 
he said he would endeavor to exert it, upon which those 
noblemen immediately came to the scaffold, and, after ex- 
changing salutations, were enabled effectively to hear Ra- 
legh's last justification. In this he distinctly, and to the 
impartial listener satisfactorily, justified himself from the 
principal allegations which had attainted his loyalty as a 
subject, his honor as a private individual, and his conduct 
as a naval commander. It has been before observed, that 
he also exonerated himself from the charge of having fol- 
lowed the Earl of Essex to the scaffold, that he might sa- 
tiate a base spirit of revenge with the sight of his suffer- 
ings. In vindicating his conduct as a subject, he denied 
with vehemence that he had ever engaged in any plot with 
the King of France, or had a commission from him, or even 
eeen the hand-writing of that monarch. This had been 
one of the calumnies which Stucley and Mannourie had 
devised. He solemnly declared that he had never uttered 
dishonorable or disloyal expressions touching the King ; an 
accusation which had, he said, been fabricated by a " base 
Frenchman, a runagate fellow, one that had no dwelling — 
a kind of chemical fellow, one that he knew to be perfidi- 
ous." This man, he had, as he confessed, intrusted with 
the secret of his projected flight, which Mannourie had in- 
stantly revealed. 

He acknowledged that he had intended to escape, but 
justified that natural design by the plea of wishing to save 
his life. He confessed, what was less excusable, that he had 
dissembled and feigned sickness, but referred as a precedent, 
to tlie example of David, who had assumed the appearance 
of an idiot to escape from his enemies. 

lie declared that he forgave his betrayers, Stucley and . 
Mannourie, but warned all men to beware of their perfidy. 
He denied, specifically, several particulars whicli they had 
adduced, especially in relation to the sum of ten thousand 
pounds, which Stucley had declared Sir Walter to have 
offered him as a bribe for his escape. After commenting 
minutely on his conduct during his voyage, he concluded 
his exhortation in these words: — 

"And now I entreat you all to join vi-ith mo in prayer to 



LIFE OF Sill WALTER RALEGH. 253 

tlie Great God of Heaven, whom I grievously offended, 
being a man full of vanity, and lived a sinful life in all sin- 
ful callings, — for I have been a soldier, a captain, a sea-cap- 
tain, and a courtier, which are courses of wretchedness and 
vice, — that God would forgive me and cast away my sins from 
me, and that he would receive me into everlasting life. So 
I take my leave of all you, making my peace with God." 

On the proclamation being made that all persons should 
depart from the scaffold. Sir Walter, after taking off some 
of his attire, gave his hat, a wrought cap which he wore, and 
some money to his attendants. On bidding a last farewell 
to the noblemen and other friends, who stood around him, 
he entreated the Lord Arundel to petition the King, that 
no calumnious publications might defame him after his 
death : an entreaty which was utterly disregarded. The 
composure of his demeanor may be gathered from the sim- 
ple and tranquil, yet decorous observations which fell in 
these solemn moments from his lips. With the magnanimi- 
ty, without the untimely jocularity of Sir Thomas More, 
he referred to the awful change which both soul and body 
were shortly to undergo, by remarking " that he had a 
long journey to go, and must therefore speedily take his 
leave." Having taken off his gown and doublet, he desired 
the executioner to show him the fatal instrument of destruc- 
tion. The man, hesitating to comply, Sir Walter said, " I 
pr'ythee let me see it : dost thou think that I am afraid of 
it 1" Having passed his finger on the edge of the ax, he 
returned it, saying to the sheriff, " this is a sharp medicine, 
but it is a cure for all diseases." Then, entreating the 
prayers of the beholders, that God might strengthen and 
assist him, he gave the customary forgiveness to the exe- 
cutioner, laying his hand on the shoulder of the ipan. 
These preliminaries being arranged, he was asked, as he 
laid his head on the block, in which direction Jie would 
place it; an inquiry which he calmly answered, by ob- 
serving " that if the heart be right, it were no matter 
which way the liead was laid." The executioner threw 
his cloak over him as he reclined his body on the block, 
his face being turned towards the east. In a few seconds 
Sir Walter gave the signal that he was prepared for the 
solemn office, by raising his hand. No start of weakness, 
no trembling movement, indicated either the emotions of 
mental agitation, or those of nervous sensation. By two 



254 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

strokes his head was severed from his body : it was then 
displayed to the populace on each side of the scaffold, and 
put into a red leather bag; and his velvet night-gown 
being thrown over it, it was carried away in a mourning 
coach belonging to the desolate Lady Ralegh, by whom it 
was long preserved in a case, and, after her death, kept 
with the same reverential care by her son Carew, in whose 
grave it was buried. His body was interred in the church 
of St. Margaret, in Westminster, near the altar of the sa- 
cred edifice. 

After his death, two lines were generally circulated, 
stated to be his, and said to have been suggested by the 
expiring snuff of a candle, the very night before he died. 

Cowards fear to die, but courage stout, 
Rather than live in snuff, will be put out.* 

This couplet is also thought to have referred to a sug- 
gestion made to Ralegh to solicit Gondemar to sue to James 
for his pardon. The proposal was offered to him by Lord 
Clare, one of Ralegh's earliest and latest friends, in asso- 
ciation with whom he had served both in court and in 
camps, and to whom he was attached by reciprocity of 
.sentiments, and similarity of pursuits. Yet Lord Clare 
could not prevail with Ralegh to risk the chance of a re- 
fusal, with the sacrifice of that which he deemed a point of 
honor. " I am neither so old nor so infirm," said he, " but 
that I should be content to live ; and, therefore, this would 
I do, were I sure it would do my business ; but if it fail, 
then I shall lose both my life and my honor, and both those 
I will not part with.f" 

The lines, entitled by Archbishop Sancroft, " Ralegh's 
epitaph," were given, according to that learned prelate, by 
Sir Walter to one of his attendants, the night before his 
execution ; and were said to have been found in his Bible, 
in the Gate-house at Westminster. This touching and al- 
most sublime composition, is thus given in the best collec- 
tion of Ralegh's works : — 

Even such is time, that takes on trust 
Our youth, our joys, our all we have, 
And pays us but with age and dust; 
Who in the dark and silent grave, 
When we have wandered all our ways, 
Shuts up the story of our days ! 

• Folio edition of Ralegh, viii. 72^ 

t Note in Biog. from Collin's Collections, fol. p. 10. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 555 

But from this earth, this grave, this dust. 
The Lord shall raise me up, I trust.* 

TJie more elaborate poetical effusion, entitled the Fare- 
well, and formerly asserted to have been the composition 
of Ralegh's last hours, was, however, in print so early as 
the year 1608, when it appeared in " Davisons' Rhapsody." 
It is also to be found in a manuscript collection of Ralegh's 
Poems, dated 1596. It is written with considerable force 
and point, and is, undoubtedly, the most vigorous of Ra- 
legh's poems ; yet it breathes not that chastened and be- 
nevolent spirit which he appears to have imbibed in the 
close of his later years. 

Several occurrences, unimportant in themselves, appear 
to have renewed the subject of Ralegh's death in the pub- 
lic mind, for a short time after his execution. One anec- 
dote, related by Osborne, shows the jealousy of government 
of every tribute, whether serious or frivolous, to his mem- 
ory ; and also illustrates the summary and tyrannical mode 
then adopted of checking any popular feeling. 

It was the fashion of those times, a custom in which the 
facetious Mr. Francis Osborne frequently concurred, for the 
principal nobles, gentry, courtiers, and men in professions. 
and occupations, not " merely mechanic," to meet in St. 
Paul's Church by eleven, and walk in the middle aisle till 
twelve. This practice was renewed after dinner, from 
three to six, and afforded to the great, the gay, the ambi- 
tious, and the curious, a place of rendezvous, where the 
topics of the day were discussed,f and much important 
business, under the semblance of pastime, oftentimes ar- 
ranged. 

Soon after Ralegh's death, Mr. Edward Weimark, a 
wealthy merchant, one of the frequenters of this noted 
promenade, and called, on that account, a Paul's walker, 
chanced to express a wish that Ralegh's head were on Sir 
Robert Naunton's shoulders, alluding to the notion of inca- 
pacity and frivolity which he attached to Naunton, who 
was better fitted for a mere courtier, than for the office of 
Secretary of State. The observation was thought, how- 
ever, to imply an insult, and the offence was deemed a 
grave one : Weimark was summoned before the Privy 
Council, and was obliged to allege in his defence, that he 
had only meant that two heads were better than one. Some 

* See O.Tford edition. f Osborne's Mem. of King James. 449. 



256 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

lime afterwards, upon a contribution being raised for St 
Paul's Cathedral, Weimark at the Council Chamber sub- 
scribed one hundred pounds ; but the secretary remarking, 
that " two hundred were better than one," the citizen be- 
came alarmed at the renewal of the old proverb, and dou- 
bled his subscription. 

But soon the recollection of Ralegh was dissipated by 
fresh events, or it passed away, according to the fashion 
of an inconstant world, except in the minds of those whose 
love to him was not of a transitory nature. Dr. Townson, 
who, on the 9th of November, penned a narrative of his 
last hours, remarks, " this was the news a week since'; but 
now it is blown over, and he is forgotten.*" Soon did his 
sad fate cease to excite sympathy, or the causes of his death 
to challenge conjecture. 

It is some consolation to find, that Stucley's part in this 
mournful history, was not so hastily obliterated fi'om tho 
public mind. Both he and Mannourie became the subjects 
of universal opprobrium.f The firmness of Ralegh in his 
asseverations, having shaken all credence in Stucley's cal- 
umnies, that individuaUoftered, at court, to take the sacra- 
ment that what he had said of Ralegh was true, and to 
produce two other witnesses that wcrtild do the same. Nev- 
ertheless his company was obviously avoided ; and, on a 
subsequent occasion, his character was fully disclosed in a 
fraudulent transaction. For avarice, his besetting sin, 
having tempted him to lay his hands upon some coin in the 
very palace of Whitehall, he was condemned to be hanged, 
and was constrained to purchase his pardon by the sacrifice 
of all his possessions, even, as it is said, to his shirt. He 
afterwards returned to the little island of Lundy, in the 
Severn, and died, in less than two years after Ralegh, in- 
sane, and a beggar. J 

Respecting Ralegh's surviving family, a far more char- 
itable species of interest is felt, than that which the mise- 
rable fate of Stucley inspires. His widow survived him 
nine and twenty years, but never replaced one who had 
few equals, by a second marriage. After his death she is 
said to have relaxed not in her exertions to rescue his 
property from the grasp of others, and to have petitioned 



♦ Townson's Letter, Oxford ed. viii. 7f2. 

t Letter in Caylfv'e App 11.417. t Oldya, 221. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 257 

government to restore his Irish estates to his family, on the 
ground that the sale was illegal, and the whole transaction 
irregular. 

Carew Ralegh, the only surviving offspring of Sir Wal- 
ter and Lady Ralegh, was, at the time of his father's death, 
thirteen years of age. He was educated at Wadham Col- 
lege, Oxford, and introduced at Court^by William Earl of 
Pembroke, his kinsman, and the son of that noble lady who 
was the subject of Ben Jonson's commendations, and who 
had formerly interceded for Sir Walter Ralegh. But, al- 
though thus protected, the misfortunes of his family were, 
in many respects, extended to Carew Ralegh. On his ap- 
pearance at Court, the King observing "that he looked 
like the ghost of his father," the poor youth was constrained 
to absent himself, and to travel for a year, when the death 
of James occurring, he returned. Parliament being then 
sitting, he petitioned to be restored to his rights, but was 
not allowed the privilege of inheriting his father's proper- 
ty, until he had been induced, by threats and persuasions, 
to give up all claim upon the Sherborne estate, which had 
been consigned to Digby, Earl of Bristol. Nor was that 
portion of his father's lands ever restored to him, although, 
upon the subsequent flight of Digby to France, a fair op- 
portunity of rendering him justice was presented. He 
was permitted, however, to retain a pension of 400Z. a year, 
which had been allowed to Lady Ralegh during her life, 
and he was afterwards constituted by General Monk, gov- 
ernor of Jersey. Carew Ralegh sought to vindicate his 
father's fame both in his letters to Mr. James Howell ; and 
in his work, entitled a " Brief Relation of Sir Walter Ra- 
legh's Troubles." He is also supposed to have been the 
author of " Observations on Sanderson's History of Mary 
Queen of Scots, and her son James." He inherited some 
portion of his father's abilities, and poetical turn, but not 
his enthusiasm and elevation of character. Perhaps the 
depressing circumstances of his birth and education, may 
account for the cautious, and as some writers state, inter- 
ested nature of his disposition. By a fortunate marriage 
he became possessed of wealth ; and, in the person of his 
son, the title of Sir Walter Ralegh was revived, at the 
restoration of Charles II. It is a pleasing trait in the con- 
duct of Carew Ralegh, that he chose to be buried in his 
father's grave, at Westminster, in preference to being in- 
W2 



258 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

terred at either of the country-seats of which he had be- 
come possessed, both at West Horsley, in Surrey, and at 
Kenton Park, near Hampton Court.* 

The works which Ralegh left behind him, in prose 
alone, are considerable ; and as not many writers have ex- 
ceeded him in the number of his compositions, very few 
can also be found who have equalled him in the variety of 
his subjects. 

His poetical compositions in order of time, aje first enu- 
merated by those who have sedulously collected them from 
various publications, or from the Ashmolean Library at Ox- 
ford, in which several manuscript pieces attributed to him 
have been discovered. Unlike the poets of more modern 
times, Ralegh appears to have carelessly scattered the ef- 
fusions of his fancy in sundry contemporary publications, 
to have neglected their preservation, and to have disre- 
garded the possibility of their being attributed to others. 
It is remarkable that a stanza in his " Silent Lover," one 
of his most eulogized poems, was, about seventy years ago, 
current among the fashionable literary circles, as the pro- 
duction of the celebrated Earl of Chesterfield.f 

It is evident that Ralegh had recourse to poetry as a 
recreation only, and that he never, even in his youth, con- 
sidered it as the probable basis of his fame. Hence, the 
desultory mode in which his lyric efforts were flung, as it 
were, from his pen ; most of them originating in the pass- 
ing circumstances of the day, and written in the enthu- 
siasm of the moment. We are therefore to regard his 
poems as the indications, rather than the fruits of his 
genius. The mind which unfolds itself in his finished 
works, is also displayed, forcible, elegant, and imaginative, 
in the dreams of his muse ; but it is obvious that he be- 
stowed not, in preparing these latter exhibitions of talent, 
the same care as in more important undertakings. Of his 
poetry, a considerable portion is devotional ; some pieces 

* In the same tomb with the father and son, or very near to it, were 
interred the remains of James Harrington, the author of Oceana. Au- 
brey MSS. Oxf. ed. R. W. viii. 744. 

t Oxf. ed. Ral. Works, viii. 775, note. The stanza rune thus : — 

Silence in love bewrays more woe 
Than words, though ne'er so witty, 

A beggar that is dumb, you know 
Deserveth double pity. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 259 

are dedicated to flattery of Queen Elizabeth, under a strain 
of affected humility and of passionate admiration. A few 
pastoral, and two satirical compositions vary the collec- 
tion ; but the finest verses are those already referred to in 
some publications entitled the " Farewell," and in others 
the " Lie," and beginning with the spirited and well- 
known stanza. 

Go soul, the body's guest, 
Upon a thankless errand. 

Fear not to touch the best, 
The truth shall be thy warrant. 

As a poet, Sir Walter Ralegh might, perhaps, in the 
lapse of time have been forgotten, except by the antiqua- 
ry; but there is scarcely another subject which he has 
handled, his treatises upon which would not have insured 
him an exalted rank in the literature of his country. Pos- 
sessed not only of extensive knowledge, but of indefatiga- 
ble industry, he displayed a perfect acquaintance both with 
military and maritime science, and proved in his numerous 
publications on these subjects, not only that his theories 
were well-digested and ingenious, but that his information 
was practical, and his facts gleaned from experience. Upon 
military operations he wrote three discourses, two of which 
were completed during the three eventful and busy years 
of his life, before the invasion of the Spanish Armada. 
Upon maritimal concerns he published no fewer than eight 
treatises,* being, as he proudly announced, the first writer 
either ancient or modern that had treated on this subjectf 
These works are written with great perspicuity, and, al- 
though the practices recommended in them be now obso- 
lete, and the improvements and plans suggested, super- 
seded by the rapid strides of modern science, they are in- 
teresting, as all compositions dictated by good sense and 
experience must ever be ; and curious, as illustrating the 
comparative progress of navigation, and of the arts con- 
nected with it. Several of the essays were dedicated, or 
addressed in the form of letters, to Prince Henry. 

The geographical discoveries of Ralegh would have held 
a much higher station in the collectanea of valuable disser- 
tations which he left to posterity, had not their credit been 
lessened by speculations in which the interests of his imme- 

* See Notes in Biog. art. Ralegh, with a complete list of his works. 
t Hist. Wood lib. 5. cap. 1. sect. 6. 



260 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

diate gains were obviously considered, and those of truth 
disregarded. He appears to have relied too readily upon 
the accounts of others, and to have allowed himself, ac- 
cording to the fashion of the day, when no precision in geo- 
graphical delineations was deemed essential, too much lati- 
tude in conjecture; an error which eventually,' as we have 
seen, proved fatal to his reputation. Those of his works, 
which may be classed under the head of Physical Geogra- 
phy, consisted of several discourses upon the discovery, 
planting, and settlement of Virginia ; a treatise on the West 
Indies ; and his accounts of Guiana, which have already 
been noticed. 

It has been well remarked, that Ralegh was no less 
qualified to govern nations, than to conquer or defend 
them, an observation which was drawn forth by the num- 
ber of political works which he composed. Of these, one 
treatise entitled " The Cabinet Council, containing the 
chief Arts of Empire, and Mysteries of State, discabinet- 
ed ;" was published by Milton in 1658 ; with the motto, 
" Quis Martem tunica tectum adamantina digne scripse- 
rit !" And with the following notice. " Having had the 
manuscript of this treatise, written by Sir Walter Ralegh, 
many years in my hands, and finding it lately by chance, 
among other books and papers, upon reading thereof, I 
thought it a kind of injury to withhold longer the work of 
so eminent an author from the public ; it being both an- 
swerable in style to other works of his already extant, as 
far as the subject will permit, and given me for a true 
copy by a learned man at his death, who had collected 
several such pieces.* 

" John Milton." 

Whilst this essay treats on the nature of governments 
generally, that on the Prerogative of Parliament, dedicated 
to King James, and printed at Middleburgh in 1628, des- 
cants in the form of dialogue, and in an ingenious and ani- 
mated manner, on the peculiarities, history, and advantages 
of the English constitution and usages, with which Ralegh 
had no ordinary nor superficial acquaintance. His treatises 
on political subjects amount in number to ten ; the authen- 
ticity of one or two of these is, however, doubtful ; several 
are still "in manuscript in the Ashmolean Library at Ox- 

* See Oxford edit, of Ralegh's Works, vol. viii. p. 36. 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 261 

ford ; but few of these were published during his lifetime, 
and, consequently, had neither the benefit olf his correc- 
tions, nor of his inspection. 

The philosophical writings of Ralegh are remarkable for 
the peculiarly happy and elegant mode in which his posi- 
tions are illustrated, and for the fascination which he 
throws around his subject. Whilst to the profound meta- 
physician they may appear deficient in depth, or imperfect 
in conception and arrangement, they are, perhaps, to a 
general reader, the most engaging of all his works. In 
the " Sceptic," he has ingeniously shown the various and 
contradictory views, which may, with an appearance of 
justice, be entertained of the same subjects. Upon this 
fanciful plan, he has displayed extensive observations of 
nature, and a knowledge of her economy, which excite 
wonder and admiration, when his multifarious occupations, 
in the court, the camp, and the cabinet, are considered. 
Ralegh, during the short periods of leisure which he en- 
joyed, must have beeo an indefatigable student, and that 
which in private he stored up with so much assiduity, he 
knew well how to apply with address, when called forth 
by occasion. 

Among his philosophical works have been classed, " The 
Instructions to his Son, and Posterity," published after his 
death, in the small collection of his works, entitled his 
" Remains." This didactic composition reminds the mod- 
ern reader, in many passages, of the celebrated Letters of 
Lord Chesterfield, who may, perhaps, have borrowed the 
notion of such a form of admonition from this little work. 
But Ralegh, in directing the attention of youth to the for- 
mation of character, presents, as the only solid foundation, 
the pure principles of Christianity, and derives his best max- 
ims from Holy Writ itself He places, indeed, a sufficient, 
and perhaps more than sufficient importance upon worldly 
motives and worldly prudence ; but he considers them ever as 
in subjection to virtue and religion. In this respect he holds a 
rank as an instructor, far superior to the ingenious writer with 
whom the foregoing comparison has been made. Although 
he enters not into the minutiae of deportment, habits, and 
drees, nor upon the methods necessary for the attainment 
of a good name in society, upon which Lord Chesterfield 
peculiarly insisted, yet he may be deemed, of the two, 
the wiser friend, and, it may be added, the more affection- 



262 LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 

ate father ; for he writes with a more earnest regard to 
those interests of his child, and of youth in general, to 
which an anxious parent would look with solicitude, and 
inculcate with the greatest assiduity. The essays of Ra- 
legh are calculated to form the pure and well-intentioned 
youth, into an upright and religious member of the- com- 
munity. Those of his modern rival are qualified to nour- 
ish selfishness, to encourage the subtleties and artifices of 
polite life, and to convert the aspirations of youthful ambi- 
tion into an habitual reverence for worldly advantages, and 
for these alone. 

With these instructions of Ralegh to his son, has been 
published another essay, entitled, " The dutiful Advice of 
a loving Son to his Father," by some considered as a satire 
upon Ralegh, but, by most of his biographers, considered to 
be the production of his son. 

Such was the variety of Ralegh's avocations, that, be- 
sides these works on Moral Pliilosophy, he left two others 
on Natural Philosophy, for one of which, " A Treatise on 
Mines, and the Trial of Minerals," he found time to collect 
materials during his transient visits into Cornwall and De- 
vonshire, and improved, and extended the ideas thus ac- 
quired, by his acquaintance with the West Indies, and his 
intimacy with Sir Adrian Gilbert. That kinsman of Ra- 
legh, began, in the reign of Elizabeth, to explore the long- 
neglected mines of Comb Martin, from the stores of which 
Edward the Third supplied the resources for his wars with 
France ; and from the silver ore of which. Sir Adrian 
caused two massy goblets to be formed, one of which he 
presented to the Earl of Bath, and the other to the Lord 
Mayor of London, in the thirty-fifth year of the Queen's 
reign.* 

Ralegh also left a collection of " Chymical and medicinal 
receipts for fixing mercury, preparing antimony, and for 
the cure of various diseases." This work is still in manu- 
script, in the library of Sir Hans Sloane : it is contained in 
about seventy leaves in quarto ; and on one leaf Sir Wal- 
ter has written, " our great cordial," with a line under it, 
and a list of ingredients following.f 

Of Ralegh's historical productions, some incidental no- 
tices have already been given in the course of this sketch 

• Oldys, 183. t Note in Oldys, 183. 



« LIFE OF PIR WALTER RALEGH. 263 

of his life. The noblest of all his literary productions, the 
History of the World, was not, in all probability, commenced 
until he had entered his fifty-first year ; and when, in sick- 
ness and despondency, he had to check the afflicting retro- 
spection of his heaviest calamities, to sustain ■ unrelenting 
persecutions, and the most appalling reverses of fortune, 
and to contend against the depression naturally produced 
by the prospect of a long imprisonment. Such were the 
circumstances with which he had to conflict, and such 
their tendency to damp his ardor for fame, and to chill 
every transport of enthusiasm. These were, however, in- 
effectual in impeding the progress of such a portion of this 
undertaking as is sufficient to perpetuate Ralegh's name, 
so long as our national literature shall continue to exist. 
It is deeply to be regretted, that if he had actually collect- 
ed materials for a second part, they were destroyed, or suf- 
fered to remain useless. If, as an historian of remote ages, 
he could throw any interest into the narrative of early 
times, how vivid would have been his pictures of modern 
manners ; how animated his details of the achievements of 
chivalry ; how graphic, and yet how impartial, his relations 
of tlie vast changes, which time, conquest, or religion, ef- 
fect upon our moral condition ! It is, however, problemati- 
cal, whether more than loose notes, or hasty reflections 
were really compiled for the sequel of this justly eulogized 
undertaking. 

On Ralegh's epistolary remains, too high an encomium 
can scarcely be passed. Of these Mr. Oldys had seen 
twenty-eight letters, either in manuscript or in print, which, 
with the addition of those printed in the Appendix to this 
work, and collected from the State Paper Office, amount 
to a considerable number, and would form a small volume. 
Some of his epistles, especially to Sir Ralph Winwood, 
may be ranked, from tlie important events they describe, 
and their official character, among his liistorical produc- 
tions. In this form of composition, Ralegh is always ad- 
mirable ; and, whether we view him as a grave narrator 
of facts, or in the familiarity of friendly communication, 
he has been equalled by few of our English writers ; for 
few have possessed the art to appear wholly concerned in 
their subjects, and but little in themselves. It has been 
remarked, respecting a letter of Ralegh's published by Sir 
Richard Steele in the Englishman, that there is no satisfac- 



264 LIFE OP SIR WALTER RALEGH. i 

tory evidence of its authenticity.* This, of his epistles, is 
most generally admired, and known ; yet, although a beauti- 
ful composition, it might seem rather to be the production 
of Steele himself, than of Ralegh, with whose sentiments of 
monarchy,! ^ well as with his usual style of composition, 
it is at variance in many respects. 

Sir Walter Ralegh was sixty years old at the time of 
his deatli ; but, although then suffering from fever, retained 
considerable vigor of constitution, even to the last. The 
attributes of his person were universally acknowledged by 
his contemporaries, to be strength, symmetry, and dignity ; 
of his countenance, proportion and expression, not, indeed, 
wholly devoid of a peculiarity, at first sight, unpleasing ; 
his forehead was exceedingly high, and the contour of his 
face altogether long ; and the general impression wliich his 
presence inspired, was that of a commanding boldness, not 
unmingled with austerity.^ There was an ancient rebus, ■ 
usually applied in Sir Walter's time, to his name as it was 
then pronounced : — 

" The enemy to the stomach,§ and the word of disgrace,! 
Is the name of the gentleman with a bold face." 

Tradition asserts him to have had a weak voice, a report 
which seems probable, from the apprehension which he 
manifested on several important public occasions, lest he 
should not be distinctly heard. Notwithstanding his learn- 
ed education, his intercourse with foreign nations, and with 
polite and intellectual society at home, Sir Walter Ralegh 
is said to have spoken " broad Devonshire to his dying 
day. IT" 

In his ordinary habits of life, he possessed that faculty, 
conspicuous in men of powerful genius, of being able quick- 
ly to vary his pursuits, and of giving the whole powers of 
his mind to that which ought immediately to occupy his 
attention. The various faculties of his understanding were 
thus incessantly called'into exercise, and no portion of his 
acquirements was suffered to fall into disuse. In the early 
part of his life, it seems incomprehensible how he could 
have studied ; and, when he found leisure, or retirement, 
to accumulate the great stores of learning, which afler- 

* Cayley. f See his Cabinet Council. Oxford ed. vol. viii. p. 37, 38. 
t Aubrey's MSS. Oxford ed vol. viii. p. 737. t Kaw. 

DLy. TT Aubrey. 



lAFV. UK r^lii WAl.i-r.lt ItAl.WiH. 265 

wards caused him to be reputed " one of tlie weightiest and 
wisest men that this island ever bred.*" Independent of 
his military career, of a life of incessant activity m Ireland, 
in France, in Portugal, and at home, he was the gayest 
member of society, and the most loquacious, frolicsome, and 
frequent attendant upon taverns, and other places of resort, 
then in vogue. He was not, however, indiscriminate in 
iiis approval of certain companions. Aubrey relates, that 
being much annoyed by the impertinence and incessant 
vociferation of one Charles Chester, the original of Ben 
Jonson's Carlo Buffone,f Sir Walter sealed up the mouth, 
upper and nether beard of this noisy personage, with hard 
wax, accompanying the outrage with an eflectual beating. 
Of Ralegh's social habits but few authentic anecdotes have 
been transmitted to us. Inferences, from casual remarks 
and various authors, may, however, be drawn, that he was 
frequently, during his liberty, in public and in private fes- 
tivities, into which he introduced, both by the importation 
of tobacco, and his own practice, the custom of smoking, 
with a silver pipe, which was at first handed round froiTi 
one man to another at table. J But he knew how to in- 
dulge in recreation without constituting it the sole end and 
aim of his being, an error, fatal to enjoyment, as well as to 
mental attainments. Few men were so independent of 
external circumstances : within the walls of a prison, or, 
what is almost equally a durance, the narrow bounds of a 
ship's cabin, he could make to himself an imaginary world 
by the aid of study and reflection. We have seen how he 
employed the period of his captivity : he is said also to have 
studied assiduously in his sea voyages, where he carried 
always along with him a great trunk of books. 5 

On the qualities of Sir Walter Ralegh's mind, most 
writers have been agreed. That he possessed imagination, 
not rendered sickly by continued mdulgence, but invigo- 
rated by the aid of judgment .and cultivation, is undeniable. 
That the scope which he proposed to himself in his literary 
undertakings was most extensive, and that it could only be 
compassed by a mind of the most elevated and powerful 
character, is equally obvious. He planned more than many 

. ♦ (Jowell's Letters, vol. ii. p. 372. 
t See "Every Man out of Ilia Humor." 
t Aulirey §Ibid. 



266 i.irr. of hik waltrr rai.f.gi/ 

men havo ventured even to think on ; he executed wliat 
few individuals have been bold enough to plan. Althougli 
an experimentalist, he was not merely a dreamer ; his en- 
ergies were in proportion to his schemes. Yet in delinea- 
tin"^ the mental characteristics of this extraordinary man, 
we cannot but acknowledge the preponderance of his ima- 

fination over the other attributes of his intellect; a prepon- 
erance increased by a temperament naturally ardent and 
sanguine. Subdued, as it was, by the necessities of action, 
and by an incessant mingling with the realities of life, it 
was this quality, which, whilst it gave the charm, pro- 
duced also the danger to Ralegh's career. In a moral 
sense, whilst it was the source of most of his glorious en- 
terprises, it was also the cause of his speculations, of his 
acts of imprudence, and schemes of ambition. The errors 
of his life may far more justly be traced to the visionary 
notions which he indulged, and which were not, indeed, 
always of a selfish character, than to gross deficiencies in 
principle, or defects of the heart. His faults, exaggerated 
as they were by the writers of his own times, belonged to 
the period in which he lived : his virtues attained a degree 
of eminence which a far more civilized age would have 
viewed with admiration and repaid with gratitude. Where, 
in any of the successive reigns, up to the present day, do 
we behold such instances of patriotic exertion in a private 
individual, as in Ralegh, who never attained any offices in 
the state, but such as were calculated to give him local 
importance only "J Though accused, and in some points 
convicted of avarice, where the national glory was con- 
cerned he risked, in his earliest expeditions, large portions 
of his property ; and, in his last fatal voyage, ventured all 
that he possessed. Though ambitious, and a courtier, he 
-was not time-serving, like Cecil, nor despicably subser- 
vient, like Bacon : and, at the accession of James I., was 
almost the only man that dared to give that monarch hon- 
est counsel. Though desirous, after his disgrace, of resti- 
tution to honor and station, he was yet above seeking it by 
any base crimination of others, or mean concession to his 
oppressors : he neither vilified Cobham, nor condescended 
to beg from Gondemar the boon of existence. 

As a statesman Ralegh was earnest, liberal, enlightened, 
and, generally, indepemient. As a British subject, he was 
assiduous in his country's service ; in most of his designs 



LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH. 267 

benevolent, and, except for persecution, he would have 
been loyal. As an author, he has sought to promote the 
interests of morality, and to elevate its standard : neither 
infidelity nor impurity sullied the worth of his productions. 
He bequeathed not to posterity that which tlic most sedu- 
lous parent might not place in the hands of a child, just 
rising to a consciousness of the existence of evil. He did 
more ; he left those testimonies of his wisdom, and efforts 
of his abilities, which would inspire in the youthful breast 
sentiments of generous ambition, and a desire of laudable 
exertion. To the senator, the soldier, the mariner, the 
student, he may alike be presented as a model for imita- 
tion, and a stimulus to hopes of success. Nor, when we 
look into the private life of Ralegh, are we compelled to 
check the enjoyment which admiration of talent produces : 
strongly tinctured with the erroneous notions of the day, 
in some points, he was yet a good man. Though, in his 
youth, he ran into irregularities, these were not settled into 
vices: his heart wa^ affectionate, and his horror of profli- 
gacy, on many occasions, strongly and admirably expressed.* 
Though tempted, in the ardor of military fame, to acts of 
cruelty, he became patient, lenient, and compassionate : 
this is evident from the love which his shipmates bore to 
him, and from the care and anxiety which he evinced for 
them in all his voyages. Though vehement in his enmi- 
ties, in early life, his latter days were not degraded, as far 
as we can judge, by virulent resentments or malevolent 
feelhigs, for which few men could have been more ex- 
cused. His expressions, whenever he alludes to hia 
wrongs, are temperate ; and on all solemn occasions, on 
his trial, at his execution, though he earnestly sought to 
justify himself, he abstained from reflections upon others. 

On one of the most important points of his character, 
his veracity, opinions are still divided. Whether Ralegh 
really believed, or only feigned to believe in the riches of 
Guiana ; whether his account of that country were the re- 
sult of credulity, or the labor of imposture, can scarcely be 
determined. But on these considerations, .different views 
will be adopted, in proportion to the different notions im- 
bibed of his general qualities. Confiding in a man, as hon- 
orable and faithful, we should be inclined rather to charge 

• Si>c his lA'ttor to his Sun, fcc. 



268 LIFE OF SUi WALTER llALKUH. 

him with folly, than to censure him for deception. In the 
reign of James, the prevalent, or at least avowed sentiment 
regarding Ralegh, was that of distrust and reprobation. 
Hence the worst construction was placed upon his failui-6 
and his errors : but posterity, rendering him justice in the 
other passages of his life, will be more inclined to view 
him in this respect with indulgence. 



APPENDIX. 



Note (A). 

The potatoe is the tuber of a poisonous plant, the Solanum tuberosum, 
a native of South America ; belonging to the natural order Solaneee. If 
is improperly regarded as a root, as it is a tuber or an underground mag- 
azine of nutriment for the gems, the rudiments of the lateral progeny of 
the plant which is to become plants in tho subsequent year. The pota- 
toe is not even attached to the root ; but, by cords of vessels, or wires, as 
they are termed, to the base of the stem or caudex. The nutriment form- 
ed in the plant by the exposure of the sap to the air and light in the leaf, 
is conveyed through these wires, and deposited in the tubes for the use 
of the gems. It is not, however, until these begin to vegetate, that the 
farinaceous matter is absorbed ; and at this time, it undergoes a change, 
and acquires s.iccharine properties. As the young plant grows, the pota- 
toe shrivels ; and, lieing at length exhausted, becomes an empty skin ; but 
ere this happens, the young plants are capable of supplying themselves 
from the ground, and no longer require the aid of the tuber. In convert- 
ing the potatoe, therefore, to nourishment for himself, man robs the young 
plants of what nature intends for their support : by the art of cultiva- 
tion, however, he has greatly increased the supply of nutriment, the wild 
potatoe affording tubers not longer than a walnut. 

The uncooked potatoe possesses injurious if not poisonous properties; 
but heat destroys these, and converts the parenchyma of the tuber into a 
highly nutritive and agreeable food. It is a matterof dispute with polit- 
ical economists, whether the introduction of the potatoe has really con- 
tributed to the welfare of the human race. 

A. T. T. 



Note (B). 

Mbliees relative to Tobacco, by Doctor A. T. Thomson. 

" He firat the snuff-box open'd, then the case." 

Rape of the Lock. 

What is tobacco, which has enslaved to its use the greater part of the 
human race for upwards of three centuries? is a question which natural- 
ly occurs to the mind of any one who hears or reads of the obstacles 
which were opposed to its introduction into Europe, and the popularity 
which it has for so long a period of time maintained. 'The reply is familiar 
to every one : it is the dried leaf of a species of plant which is named, 
in botanical language, A'icofiaiia tobacum ; but it is not generally known 
that the Tobacco, which is brought to this country in the form of dried 
leaves, ci<;ars. and snuff, is the production of not one only, but of several 
species of the genus Nicotiana. The greater number of the species are 
annual plants, natives of South America ; but two, at least, are perenni- 
al ; the Nicotiana frulicosa, which is a shrub, a native of the Cape of 
tJood Hope, and of China ; and N. urens, a native of South America. 
Many of the species are cultivated in Europe ; but, it is remarkable that 
Humboldt found only two of them, the N. paniculaf.a, and N. glutinosa, 
growing wild in the Oroonoko. He added two new species to the family, 
the N. larcnsis and andicotn, which he found on the Andes at 1850 toises 
of elevation.* 

The species of Nicotiana which •as first known, and which still ftir- 
nishes the greatest supply of Tobacco, is the N. tabacum, an annual plant, 

» Hiuuboldt'i Fersnnal N»rr»»ive, \v\. r. 
X-i 



270 APPENDIX. 

n native of South America, but natiirali7,ed to our Glimatc. It is a tall, 
not inelegant plant, rising to the heijjlit of six feet, with a strong, round, 
villous, slightly viscid stem, furnished with alternate leaves, which are 
sessile, or clasp the stem ; and are decnrrcnt, lanceolate, entire ; of a full 
green on the upper surface, and pale on the under. In a vigorous plant, 
the lower leaves arc ahout twenty inches in length, and from three to 
five in breadth, decreasing as they ascend. The inflorescence, or flower- 
ing part of the stem, is terminal, loosely branching in that form which 
botanists term a panicle, with long, liuear floral leaves or bractes at the 
origin of each division. The flowers, which blow in July and August, 
are of a pale pink or rose color : the ctilyx or flower-cup, is bell-shaped, 
obscurely pentangular, villous, slightly viscid, and presenting at the mar- 
gin tive acute, erect segments. The coroWa is twice the length of the 
calyx, viscid, tubular below, swelling'^above into an oblong cup, and ex- 
panding at the lip into fine, somewhat plaited, pointed segments; the 
seed vessel is an oblong or ovate capsule, containing numerous reniforni 
seeds, which aij; ripe in September and October; and, if not collected, 
aro shed by the cnpsulo ojiening at the apex. 

The character that particularly distinguishes N. tabacum from the other 
species of the genus, is the sessile, recurrent loaves. 

Ut^sides the species of Nicotjana described by botanists, seven kind? of 
Tobacco, some of which are probably distinct species, others only varie- 
ties of the tabacum, are cultivated in Virginia ; and known by the names 
of lludsoa, Frederick, thick-joint, shoestring, thickset, sweet-scented, 
and Oroonoko * The cultivation of Tobacco varies in different places. 
I shall only mention that which is pursued, and the manner of preparing 
the plant, in the United States. Tlieseed is sown in February and March, 
when the ground is soft and rendered light by repeated workings; in 
April, after the first vernal rains, the young plants are drawn, and plant- 
ed in beds, at the distance of three feet from one another. The planta- 
tions must be kept well weeded ; and in another month the top of each 
(ilant is pruned oft", the lateral shoots or suckers are taken away, and the 
weeds vory carefully kept down. At this period the plants are attacked 
by several insects, fioni which they are cleared by turkies, flosks of which 
arc driven into the grounds for this purpose.! When' the plant has at- 
tained its full height, the leaves begin to acquire a brownish color, and a 
clanimincBS which indicates their maturity. 'J'hcy are now cut close to 
the surface of the ground, and laid in heaps, exposed to the sun, for one 
day ; then carried to the sheds, where each plant is hung up separately, 
and remains until the leaves arc perfectly dry ; after which they are strip- 
ped from the stalks, and tied in small bundles, a twisted leaf serving to 
lie them together. These bundles are now laid in heaps, and sometimes 
covered with blankets or straw, to favor a fermentation which takes _ 
place in them; but to prevent their being overheated, they are occasion- 
ally opened and spread abroad to the air.J As soon as all danger of over- 
heating is past, the Tobacco is packed in casks and carried to the public 
warehouse, where it is examined ; if pronounciid good, a transfer note is 
given to the owner, and it is permitted to Iw exported ; if it be bad and 
unsaleable, it is publicly burnt, and the certificate refused. 

■* Brodlgan on Die Tobacco Plant, p. 17. 

t In Colombia the fnllowinp are the great enemies of the Tobacco plant. A grub, named 
mnne, which devours the younsr budi* ; the roscil-warm, which coninii's its depredaltons in the 
nipht only, burying in the ground during the day ; the grub of a butterfly, called by the Creoles, 
■/'alometn ; a species caciliens called aradet\ wliich feeds on the root of the plant j and a species 
of caterpillar which is called in (he coim'ry, the hcnmed-worm, so voracious as to require one 
night only to devour an. entire leaf of tobacco. The natural history of these insects has not yet 
been examined. 

In Sou!h America, (he Tobacco is fermented in balls made in a peculiar maimer ; and in order 
to obt.Trn from the plant a juice which is highly ])ri7ed under the name of JWco and Cliimoo; the 
fermentatiort is repealed four successive tinies ; a weight is ihcn placed on the balls w hich press- 
es out this liquor, and which, received into ;)ppr()priate vessels, is boiled to the consistence of a 
oTup. Jt is miu;h,iiri/.e(i Uy thspkiii^ers «( tjic i|iKiv| <J( Ticria ^iruie. , I'irfc Col.mibM. v.-l. 

qinlcd bv Itp'Jijin.'p.'iW'J''.. 



APPENDIX. 271 

Tohacco, ns it arrives in lliis country, has undergone a second ferinen- 
tuliori, or sea siceat, as it is termed ; and acquires a dark brown hue, and 
a soft texture. Its odor is strong, and to many not very agreeable ; it 
tastes bitter and very acrid, and, when burned, omits sparks, continuing 
to burn after it has been lighted, resembling the deflagrating of paper 
that has been soaked in nitre, to which salt, indeed, tobacco owes this" 
mode of burning. It yields its properties both to water and to alcohol ; 
mid when distilled perse, aflbrds a green essential oil, which is a virulent 
poison. The expressed juice of the fresh leaves has been analyzed by 
Vauquelin, the celebrated French chemist, who found in it a considerable 
((uantity of vegetable albumen or gluten ; some stipcr-malute of lime, ace- 
lie acid, iiitrate and muriate of potassa ; a red matter, soluble in alcohol 
and in >vater. the nature of which is still unknown ; muriate of ammonia, 
and a peculiar acrid, volatile principle, which Vauquelin termed nicotina, 
from tile generic name of the pltint. To this substance and the volatile 
oil, the properties of Tobacco, both in an economical and medicinal point 
of view, are to be attributed. I shall notice the peculiar jiroporties of 
each of these principles in its proper place. 

Ralegh found Tobacco ciiltivateil in Trinidad, on his first visit to it in 
J5fl3 ; but it vvas not introduced into Virginia until 1016, when its growth 
there was commenced under the government of Sir Thomas Dale. It is 
now raised also in the Brazils, Demerary, ('uba, St. Domingo, the Cape 
of Good Hope, and in India. Sir W. Ralegh introduced its culture into 
Ireland, on his estate at Youghal, in the county of Cork ; and it is still 
produced to a small e.vtent in (Jarlow, Waterford, and Kilkenny, although 
it has ceased to be raised in England and Scotland, since J7H2. Heforo 
that period, it was extensively reared in the north riding of Yorkshire ; 
and in the neighborhood of Kelso, in Scotland, not less than one thou- 
sand acres were covered with it. How far the prohibition of its growth 
at home is to be regarded as an act of legislative wisdom, I must leave 
others to determine. 

The history of Tobacco, as a luxury, is a striking illustration of the 
inefficiency of human laws to control the inclinations of mankind. 
When Colutnbus discovered the continent of the Western world, he found 
that, in some of the religious ceremonies of the Indians, a plant was 
thrown into the fire, the smoke of which, ascending, produced the same 
efiects upon the officiating Piaclie,* as the mephitic vapors of Delphos 
upon the Pythian priestess : responses were given, and oracles delivered, 
under the influence of a peculiar intoxication. This plant was Tobacco; 
which was probably used, also, as a luxury by the subjects of Montezu- 
ma, as it was smoked over the whole of America at the period of the 
Spanish conquest.! Its introduction into the Old World sooit followed ; 
and although it was opposed by every power, both civil and religious, yet 
its Mse has become so gehe>"al, that it is not only regarded as the solace 
and enjoyment of the luxurious in every rank of life in civilized Europe, 
hnt has been introduced wherever Europeans have found their way ; 
(;ven into the islands of the Pacific Ocean, by their adventurous discov- 
erers. In the Sandwich Islands, says Kotzebue, Tobacco is now so gen- 
erally used, that young children learn to smoke before they walk, and 
grown up people carry the practice to such an excess, that they have fall- 
en down senseless, and often died in consequence.]: 

There is reason for believing, that the first time the Spaniards saw To- 
bacco smoked, as a luxury, was at an amicable interview between Gri- 
jalva, a Spaniard, and the Cacique of Tabasco, after 'a victory which 
Grijalva, who, under tlie auspices of Velasquez, conducted an expedition 

• Tlie Piaclies .ire both pries's snd iihvsic'aiis, and are also versed in ma^ic. They perform ill 
religious ceremonies ; liave the riijlil of healinic, cnnjurin!; evil spirits, and ]iredicling futurity. ' 
—(See a uork entitled Colhmhia, vol. i. p. 647.) Mr^nariles relates, that anions the South Amer- 
ican Indians, when the priests are cousulteil by the caciiiues, they Ihrwv Toliacco upon the fire, 
receive the smoke in their mouths, and, being tlius intoxicated, fall down, and, on recovcA'iii;, 
dflnerlhc raponses which thev pretend to iuvc rtcci\ed from the world of spirits. 

I Humboldt's rersoual .Narratnc, vol. v. p. 066. 

) Voyage of Discovery. 



272 AITENDIX. 

from St. lago de VnUn, in 1518, liad gained over the Indians, at Totonclian. 
It was from the name of tlic place of this interview, which is indiscrim- 
inately called Tabasco and Tabaco,* that the plant received the appella- 
tion, which Hernandez de Toledo then imposed upon it, and which it still 
retains.! '■> the following year, 151'.), Cortez, who had connnenced his / 
career of ambition, transmitted a propitiatory present to Charles, as a 
specimen of the wealth and productions of the territory lie had conquer- 
ed for him: as a part of this tribute, Tobacco lirst found its way into 
ICurope, and, through the Veaetian and Genoese traders to the Levant, 
it was introduced into Turkey, Arabia, Persia, and the whole of Asia. 
Tt was not, however, until the middle of this century that it attracted 
considerable notice. In 15til some seeds of Tobacco were given by a 
Dutch planter to Jean Nicot, lord of Villemain, and Master of Requests 
in the French court, who was then the ambassador of Francis II. in Por- 
tugal. Nicot sent them to Catherine de Mcdicis, who afterwards patron- 
ized it as a medicine ; and thence it obtained tlie name of Herbe a la 
Reine until her death. The generic name, ^Ticotiatia, was imposed by 
Linnxus ; and is the appellation now employed. 

About this period, the monarchs of the world combined, as it were, to 
crush, by force, the evils which they anticipated from the introduction 
of Tobacco into their dominions. In England, Elizabeth published an 
edict against its use, assigning as a reason, that her subjects, by employ- 
ing the same luxuries as barbariaos, were likely to degenerate into bar- 
barism t : and in the following reign, James wrote his celebrated "Conn- 
terblaste to Tobacco," in which he remarks that the custom of smoking 
" is loathsome to the eye, hatefull to the nose, harmefull to the hraine, 
dangerous to the lungs ; aiul in the black stinking fume thereof, nearest 
resembling the horrible Stygian sinoake of the pit that is bottomless §;" ^ 
whilst, at the same time, he imposed a prohibitory duty of six shillings " 
and eight pence per pound on its importation, [j and enacted that no plant- 
er in Virginia should raise more than one hundred pounds of it in one 
year. Charles continued this impost, and made Tobacco a royal monop- 
oly, as it is at the present period, in the Netherlands and in France. An 
amusing fact, connected with the opposition to its general nse, is related 
of Fagon, the physician to Lewis XIV. : in the midst of an oration on 
the pernicious effects of Tobacco, the orator made a pause ; and, taking 
his snuff-box from his pocket, refreshed himself with a pinch to enable 
him to renew the argument. 

In 1590, Shah Abbas prohibited the use of Tobacco in Persia, by a pe- 
nal law : but, so firmly had the luxury rooted itself in the minds of his 
subjects, that many of the inhabitants of the cities tied to the mountains, 
where they hid themselves, rather than forego the pleasure of smoking. 
In the lieginning of the next century, in JG24, Pope Urban VIII. anathe- 
matized all snuff-takers, who committed the heinous sin of taking a 
pinch in any church : and so late as 1690, Innocent XII. excommunicat- 
ed all who indulged in the same vice in Saint Peter's church, at Rome. 
In IVIiS, Amurath IV. prohibited smoking, as an unnatural and irreligious 

* Tabasco is an island in the Gulf of Mexico, at the bottom of the Bay of Campeachy. It is 
formed by the river Tabasco, whicli, rising in the mountains of Chiapa, continues its course un- 
til within four leagues of ihs sea, u-heu it divides and separates the is)and of Tabasco from the 
continent. 

t Notwithstanding this clear illustration of the origin of the specific name, some are of opinion 
that it is derived from 7'a^ac, said to be the name of the instrument used in America for smoking 
the herb. 

} Camden thus stales this fact. — " Angtorum corpora in barbarorum naturam degenerasse, 
quum iidem ac barbari delectentur." — Aitnal. Eliz. p. 143. The general opposition on the part 
of different governments to its introduction, niay be, in some measure, explained by the fact, that 
the poisonous qualities of Tobacco were known in Europe at the time of its introduction from 
America. 

§ James also proposed as a banquet for the devil, *'a pig, a poole of ling and mustard, and a 
pipe of Tobacco for digestive. "(a) Nevertheless, in the treaty for Guiana, Robert Harcourt 
stipulated, on the part of James, " that on«;-tenth of the Tobacco cultivated there should go to 
the king.''— Wirn>, vol. i. p. 7. 

II The duty in the reign of Elizabeth was only two pence per pound, 
(o) Apophthegms of King James, 1671. 



Al'l'ENUIX 273 

custom, under pain of ilealh: few, indeed, sufTeied the jxjnalty, yet, in 
Ooiistanlinoiile, wiiere the custom is now universal, smoking was thought 
to he so ridiculous and hurlt'nl, that any Turk, who was caught in the 
act, was conducted in ridicule tin-ough the streets, with a pipe transfixed 
through his nose. In Russia, where the peasantry now smoke all day 
long, llie Grand Duke of iVIoscow prohibited the entrance of Tohacco into 
his dominions, under the penalty of the knout for the tirst ofli uce, and 
death for the second ; and the Muscovite who was found snufling, was 
condemned to have his nostrils split. So great, indeed, was the animos- 
ity of the government against Tobacco, in every form, that a particular 
tribunal, the Cliambre au Tabac, for punishing smokers, was instituted 
in l(i34, and not abolished until the middle of the eighteenth century. 
Even in Switzerland, war was waged against the American lierb : to 
smoke, in Berne, ranked as a crime next to adultery; and in li'i53, all 
smokers were cited before the Council at Apenzel, and severely punished. 
Hut, like many bad, and all persecuted customs. Tobacco triumphed over 
its opponents ; it is now cultivated in both l)emispher(.4 of the globe : and 
the importation of Tobacco and snuff into Great Britain alone, in 1839, 
amounted to 1G,880 iiogsheads.* 

it has been stated that Tobacco was discovered by tlie Spaniards in 
Yucatan, in 1518; but Humboldt asserts, that it was cultivated, fronj 
time immemorial, by the natives of the Oroonoko ; where it is called 
Petun, Pole-ma, and Piciel.\ It was, soon after its discovery, transported 



» Comparative Statement of the Importation, Home Consumption, Exportation, Stock remain- 
in;, and jirices of American 'J'obacco at London for Six Vears, ending 31st of December, 1829. 



Prices, 31st December,| 
per lb. 



|IS4S 

I u-as| 



1B74-) 
I034U 
1022.1 
9516 

9620 



Hds. Hcls. Hds. 

5924 3704 14719; 

' I 
2C32 3?20'27S73 

' ! I 

6137| 3901 127705 
S04I 4279 23575 
8033^4031 23024 
5025 3865123334 




1829. 



The Importation 
consisted of 

Hds. 
!inia, . . . 6575 
itnckv,&c. 2106 
Maryland, . . 939 

9620 

Stock consisted of 
Virginia, Ken- 
tucky, &c. . . 22419 
Maryland,.. 1115 

23534 



Deliveries to 

Has. 

Holland 2072 

Hans Towns, ... 518 

Prussia 12 

Norway & Denm. 144 

Italy 173 

Portugal & Spain, 792 
Brit. Possessions, 294 
Irish Ports, .... 419 
Use of Navy, . . . 
Home Trade, . . . 3S65 
Do. in Bond, . . . 



Statement of the Quantity of Tr.liac;C0 imported into Liverpool and the Clyde in 1829, 
•. ith IS2S, and the Slock estimated to remain on hand at the-close of each year. 



Liverpool. ...American.... 
Clyde Virginia 


Inipoi'eJ in 


Stock on 3l3t December. 


1K2S. 


1829. 


1828. 


1829. 


69t-0 
£SI 
6S 


4900 1 9200 


6400 
860 
68 


768 1 857 

- 1 68 









t The liame by which tobacco is known in An 
•r Aztuk tongue it is calletl mtlt : in Algonkin, 
i.in it \i "iv"; m Clnq.iiio. ,.<(.«; in Vilcl.-., 



ica dilTers in each province : in the Mexican 
mo; in the Huron, ayoue;(nia : in the Peru- 
i'si/71 ; Albaja, nalodagaili ; Mox", Jotarc; 



274 APPENDIX. 

to the West Indies ; particularly to Cuba, the Tobacco of which is still 
the most hig)ily prized : and to North America, where it has been most 
extensively cultivated. One curious circumstance connected with its cul- 
tivation in Virginia is worth noticing : the planters, in the beginning of 
the seventeenth century, being all bachelors, regarded themselves merely 
as temporary sojourners in the colony ; the London Company, which was 
established in 160G, for the colonization of Virginia, with a view to their 
steadiness, sent out a number of respectable young women, to supply the 
settlers with wives. These ladies were actually sold for one hundred 
and twenty pounds of Tobacco each, being the quantity considered as 
equivalent to the expenses of the voyage.* 

Let us now inquire into the various uses to which Tobacco is applied, 
and its medicinal properties. It is used, as a luxury, in three ways: — 
for chewing, smoking, and snuffing. 

]. Chewing Tobacco. — The origin of this custom has not been traced, 
but it probably sprung from the desire to extract from the entire Tobacco 
a substitute for the fermented juice, the vioo, which has been already no- 
ticed. At this day, the women in the province of Varinas, carry this 
inspissated liquid in " a small box, which they wear like a watch, sus- 
pended to one side at the end of a string. Instead of a key. it is furnish- 
ed with a little spoon, with which they Jjelp themselves from lime to 
time, of this juice, relishing it in their mouths like a sweetmeat." f 
Chewing Tobacco has always been confined chiefly to the lower classes, 
and seafaring men, whose avocations do not always permit the means 
of smoking, and who cannot afford to snuff. Habit enables many chew- 
ers to swallow the saliva with impunity, although the strong infusion 
introduced into the alimentary canal, is a virulent sedative poison. The 
celebrated canon of Saint Victor, Santeuil the poet, fell the victim of a 
practical joke with Tobacco. He was much distinguished for the liveli- 
ness of his disposition and his wit. At one of those entertainments, 
at which he was a constant guest, some young men, thinking it would 
be a pleasant jest, made him drink a glass of wine, into which a tobac- 
co-box, filled with Spanish Tobacco, had been emptied. He was sud- 
denly seized with the most violent vomitings, and, in a few hours after- 
wards died in the greatest tortures. The saliva of a chewerof Tobacco, 
when swallowed, affects the stomach nearly in the same manner as Opi- 
um, taking off the sensation of hunger, and enabling those who indulge 
in it to sustain the want of provisions for a great length of time. An 
anecdote, strikingly illustrative of this fact, was related to the author 
of this notice by an old gentleman, who, in the early part of his life, was 
employed in collecting furs, in North America : — Having, with his party, 
by some accident, lost his path in the woods; the provisions were ex- 
hausted, when he fortunately encountered three Indians, who were, also, 
engaged in hunting. He solicited some provisions from them ; but was 
informed they had none. He then begged for some Tobacco. Alas! there 
was only one solitary quid in the company, and that was half masticat- 
ed ; but, with the feeling of true benevolence, the Indian took it from 
his mouth, divided it, and presented one half to the Englishman, who 
accepted it ; and declared that it was tTie sweetest morsel he had ever en- 
joyed. The Tobacco for chewing is Shag Tobacco, cut from Richmond 
Tobacco, being first wetted, and afterwards dried in a hot pan. What 
is termed Roll Tobacco is formed into a cord, of a moderate thickness, 
by depriving the leaf of its veins, moistening it, and after pressing it in 
a powerful press, so as to extend the oil over the whole equally, twisting 
it, or, as it is termed, spinning it. 

Omae^ua, fottma; Tumanac, cavai ; Maypure, jtma ; and in the Cabre, ttna; the aocient 
name in Virginia was wopowoc. The other aynonymes are tabac in French ; tabah in German, 
Ilulcb, and Polish; toink in Swedish and Danith ; tnbaco, Spanish and Portuguese; and tobacco 
in the Italian. In the Oriental languages, it is tainbacu in Hindostanee; tmnracutta^ in Sans- 
crit ; poghcielty in Tamoo) ; tambracco in the Malay tongue ; latnbraKo in Javanese ; doarkooU 
ill Cingalese ; .ind bt/jjer hony in AratHC. 

» Warden's Statistical Account of the United Stales, vol. ii p. 160. 

t Colombia, vol. ii. p. 117. 



APPENDIX. 276 

2. Smokinff Tobacco. — This mode of using Tobacco was known in Amer- 
ica, at lh<> (wriod of its discovery by Columbus, and so highly prized that, 
like the Olive, the Calumet was the symbol of peace and concord.* It has 
lieen supposed that smokin;; was unknown in the Old World before the 
discovery of America, but Mr. Brodiganf has advanced the following ev- 
idence against this eupposition :— " Herodotus, in lib. 1. s. yo, asserts that 
the Massaget.x', and all the Scylhic nations, had among them certain 
herbs whicii they threw into the fire, the ascending smoke of which, the 
company seated round the fire collected, causing them to dance and 
sing."J Strabo, in lib. vii. I'.m, also says that " they had a religious order 
amongst them, who frequently smoked for recreation, which, according 
to Pomponius Mela.§ a geographical writer in the time of Claudius ; and 
Suliniis, c. J5, they received through tubes " The ancient Scytliic smok- 
ed narcotic herbs through wooden and earthen tubes; and Mr. Brodigan 
states, that in the year 1784, some laborers digging at Brannockston, in 
the county of Kildure, a spot where a battle was fought, in the tenth 
century, between the Irish and Danes, discovered an ancient "tobacco- 
pipe sticking between the teeth of a human skull." Many similar pipes, 
which were of course earthenware, lay scattered among the bones in ihe 
stone cotlins. But, although the word tobacco-pipe is employed by Mr. 
Brodigan, yet. there is no evidence to prove that the pipes found on this 
occasion, which have also been dug up in England, and attributed to the 
Danes, were used with Tobacco. Tliese facts, however, are sufficient to 
prove that smoking herbs with a pipe is a very ancient custom. 'J'he 
Cigar or Cheroot, appears to have been first used in the East Indies, al- 
though the best Cigars are now brought from the Havannah; and, at 
this time, are exactly worth their weight in silver in the London market. 

There is every reason for believing that smoking Tobacco was intro- 
duce<l into England on the return of Drake's fleet; and, it is asserted, 
that Sir Walter Ralegh was the pupil of Captain Lane, one of Drake's 
officers, in the acquirement of this elegant accomplishment. He soon set 
the fashion ; and, in communicating the art to his friends, gave smoking 
parties at his house, where his guests where treated with nothing hut a 
pipe, a mug of ale, and a nutmeg. From the anecdote related in this 
volume, respecting the weight of smoke, the vapor of the pipe certainly 
did not throw a cloud over the brilliant wit of the unfortunate Ualegli. 

The soothing influence of a pipe has proved so agreeable to men of i)hi- 
losophic and contemplative minds, that smoking may almost be desig- 
nated the pastime of the sage. Sir Isaac Newton, Hooker, and many 
other scientific and literary men, might be named as proofs of the truth 
of this assertion. But on those unaccustomed to it, smoking ])rodwces 
very unpleasant eflTccts, which have sometimes terminated fatally. The 
first symptoms are elevation of spirits, with an accelerated and strength- 
ened pulse ; but this e.xcitement is transient, and is soon followed by ver- 
tico, sickness, fainting, and a weak tremulous pulse, indicating a pow- 
erful degree of collapse. Sometimes tliese symptoms quickly subside, on 
removing from the atmosphere of the smoking-room; at other times, 

* The Calumet or pipe of peace, is a large Tobacco-pipe, with a bulb of polislied marble, and 
a stem two feet and a half long, made of a »trong reed, adorned with feathers and locks of wo- 
men's Iiair. When it is used in treaties and embassies, the Indians till the calumet with the bent 
Tobacco, and presenting it to those with whom they have concluded any great ati'air, smoke out 
of it after them."— //arri»'» Voyaga, fol. 1705, vol. ii. p. 908. 

t Vuk liis Treatise on the Tob.acco Flant, p. 19. 

X It is curious to trace the similarity of customs in different countries and eras of Ihe world. In 
a Report on Virginia, written by Thomas Heriot, servant to Sir Waller Ralegh, we find the fol- 
lowin? account of Tobacco. — *■ This uppowoc is of so precious estimation amongst them, that 
they think their gods are marvellously delighted therewith: whereupon they make hallowed 
fires, and cut some of the powder therein for sacrifice. Being in a storme upon Ihe ^vale^s, to 
pacify their gods Ihcy cast some up into the air and into the wa'er; so a weai-e for fish being 
ne-.vl'y set up, they cast some therein and into the air; and also af'er an escape of danger, they 
cas'e s'tme into the air likewise : but all done with strange gestures, stamping, sometime dancing, 
clapping of hands, holding up of hands, and staring up into the heavens, uttering therewithal! 
and chattering strange words and noises."— See HnlCnyVs fnya-^cs^ fol. I/>nd. 1810. vol. iii-. p. 324. 

J I., c. p. 20. 



270 APPENDIX. 

iliey have been known to continue for forty-eight hours.* I Iiave an in- 
stance of the kind, at this time, under my eye : and Gmelin has related 
two fatal ca,sos of excessive smoking, in one of which seventeen, and in 
the oI,her eighteen, pijies were smoked (it a sittlng.f It is, nevertheless, 
well known, that some German professors are in the habit of smoking, 
daily, from fifteen to eighteen pipes, with impunity. 

As smoking is a species of distillation, the JVicotina, or sedative prin- 
ciple of the Tobacco, being more volatile and less condensable than the 
essential oil, chiefly comes over with the smoke, and acts upon the nerv- 
ous energy of the habit through the medium of the lungs. When the 
quantity is excessive it paralyzes the heart, rendering it insensible to the 
stimulus of the blood, and the circulation ceases. The experiments of 
Mr. Brodicf have demonstrated that the essential oil is more poisonous 
than the infusion of Tobacco, which contains, like the smoke, the JVico- 
liiia ; but it kills by exciting convulsions and coma, without atfecling the 
heart. This oil accumulates in old tobacco-pipes. The poisonous effects 
of it are thus mentioned by Mr. Barrow : — " A Hottentot applied some 
of it from the short end of his wooden tobacco-pipe to the mouth of a 
snake, while darting out his tongue. The effect was instantaneous as 
an electric shock— with a convulsive motion that was momentary, the 
snake half untwisted itself, and never stirred more; and the muscles 
were so contracted, that the whole animal felt hard and rigid, as if dried 
in the sun."§ 

The Tobacco most prized for smoking is that reared in Cuba and on 
the Rio Negro; that of Cumana is the most aromatic. The Havannah 
cigars are esteemed in every part of the world where smoking is indulged. 
The coarse, acrid Tobacco chiefly employed by the lower classes of people 
in the country, is the produce of Virginia; and on the Continent, that 
of Brazil and of Santa Cruz. Tobacco grown in the East Indies is not 
much esteemed in Burope. The produce of the Levant is mild and weak, 
with a sweet or honey-like flavor. 

3. Snuffing Tobacco. — If smoking have been carried to excess, snuff- 
taking has been still more abused ; although it is questionable, whether 
any cases of death ever occurred from taking too much snuff. 

A collection of siiufla from various parts of the world, and the history 
of them, would form a singular s|)ecimen of ingenuity idly exercised, in 
varying the form and quality of a powder, merely intended for the titil- 
lation of one set of nerves. In this country, the snuffs, like the varieties 
of Sheep and Geraniums, may all be traced to one stock : the Uapee, 
which derives its name from having been originally produced, by rasping 
what is called a carrot of Tobacco. To form this, the leaves of Tobacco 
frcerl from their stems and veins, are fermented and pressed closely to- 
gother into the shape of a spindle, and retained in that shapu by cords 
wound round them. Scotch snuff, which is, also, Ihe basis of many 
snuffs, is made from Tobacco, with the midrib and veins left in the leaves, 
wliicU are first fermented, then dried before a strong fire, and arterv\'ard3 
ground in mills, resembling a large mortar and pestle. 

It would be useless to mention half the snuffs that are in fashion. The 
Rapee and the Scotch snuff nre the bases of the greatest number of them, 
ths variety of flavor being communicated by the admixture of diff'rent 
proportions of the three following : — Scuil/c snuff, the best Spani.=h, made 
from the Cuba Tobacco; Jlfofnia. made from Tobacco grown on I he banks of 
the .Marncai by in Venezuela, and called TobacodnSacerdoUs;a.\\i\MasuHpa- 
lam, made from a very broad-leaved Tobacco; but, of what species it in, 
the writer of these notices is ignorant || It has been asserted, that mm- 
nion salt, sal ammoniac, and c^ven ground glass, and other nhjcclionalile 
articles, are added to the Tobacco in the nrinnfacture of sniifl": but these 
admixtures arc unknown in this country, if they be employed elsewhere ; 

*■ K.linbiir'h Mi-,lic.il ami Sursicil .Tourn.il, vol. xii. p. 1 1. _ 

t Phil. 'rra„s. IKii. I I'hil. TraijK. vol. ri. § TmvpU in Ah<n. p. 2(!«. 

(i Till- T(.l;acc,. fiilLiiilcl in ihe i;.,s' Iii.lii-s i<. iji g.-iirnii. r.i.! luui-li |in/:-l mi Kiir,>)ic. 



APPENDIX. gi^w 

and the whole art of making snuff depends on the mode of dryinc the 
leaves, the degree of fermentation that they have undergone and the 
proper admixture of the different varieties * i-foone, ana tne 

Long Iwfore the introduction of 'I'obacco, sneezing-powders or ster- 
nutator.es were in vogue. These had l)een medicinally employed from tlie 
nme of Hippocrates; and the use of them had degenerated into a habt 
with the Irish and some other nations. If the description of a fop bv 
ShaksiH^are, m his play of Henry the Fourth, refer to Cephalic powder 
the custom, probably, also prevailed in England — ^''^'"""^ powaer, 



"He was perfumed like a ....,„„„,, 

''And 'Iwixi his finder and his Ihumbhe held 

A pouncei-boj:, which ever and auon 
'' He gave his nose.''t 



Be this as it may, soon after the introduction of Tobacco into England 
It was very generally employed in the form of snuff by both sexes t- and 
was allowed even in the royal presence. The gallants of those day's Tn 
deed, seem to have been as e.xtravagant in their snuffboxes, as partVeu- 
larin the nature of their contents, and as affected in the use of them 
as the S.I lest of our modern fops. "Before the mea?came smokin-^^t" 
in. .h , -H '7' ?•"''*'=';• """' g«"^nt "'"St draw out his tobacr".box 
he of JoU or fT "'"■r"."' «""«'"'to the nostril, all which artillery may 
.0 of gold or s. ver, if he can reach to the rice of it; then let him show 
Ins several tr.cks in taking it, as the whiff the ring, &". for lese a.^ 
complements that ga... gentlemen no mean respect."§ The custom of rais 
ng the snuft w.th a spoon to the nostrils was not confined, however to 
the fop and the courtier ; for, as appendages attached to the m,m of the 
bcotch h.ghlander, we find not only a spoon, but also a hare's foot to 
brush the snuft from the upper lip, indicating the excels to which this 
ndulgence was earned The quantity of snSff taken by ma. y octoge 
nar.ans of the present day is almost incredible, and only Lceededbv the 
?henf''T.?e^T'A u "'\V *'",'''^ contemporaries whoTave gone K e 
I H ,; '^l" Arthur Murphy carried his snuff in his waistloat pocket 
and used it w-holesale ; and I have known many literary men who emn- 

wil .''h'' "'J"'."" '"■"' ""'"^J" ^ ^^y- ^' i" t"e abuse of o,^u.nZ 
w me, the indulgence in snuff increases the desire for it until the habit 
becomes too deeply ti.xed to be eradicated ; indeed, the power w^ich the 

t.hc.al stimulants, is well illustrated by the effects of snuff on the sensi 
IC '^Tf^ °^. '"? "'i?''"'^ "'"''"■ I" t'le uni.iitiated a s.nal pinch pro- 
luc.^ a scnulant effect, which is communicated by nervous sy.nnathv 
to the whole of the respiratory system of muscles, which a,e thrown i.o 
convuls.ve action or sneezing, whereas no quantity is capable of cans 

\^LT ^^"^^ °" "i? ^?'?"" '""«'*^^- «" much does^he constant re^ti- 
tion of impression diminish the sensibility and irritability of th" Sch^e 

t? o"f Z,T,T- •' ^'?""? ""^ ''"'■'""^ '° "et^f nii "C whether, in t.ef: 
feet of snuff the same pr.nc.ple that impresses the odorous sensation on 
rllT,r^ °'^ smelling af^-ords the stimulus to those of sensation whic 
cause the s.ieez.ng, and the increased action of the pituitary -lands to 
augment the quanl.ty of the lubricating mucus of the organ 
.h„ i"!. V'"' ?*> " '^ ""^ """^^ frequent and inoffensive to others, is also 
he least injurious manner of using Tobacco as a luxu.y ; although i"i 
those unaccustomed to it, like s.noking, it not only causers sue z^nrbu 

anrr«rnl'""'n ^" ^""'' ^""«''^^^- "'« «t"'"«ch frequentlv suft'rs 
and dyspept.c symptoms supervene, accompanied with pains and tormina 
or a twist.ng sensat.on of the bowels. This mav arise, in part from he 
snuff pass.ng into the pharynx and being swallo wed ; although it is also 

„* J" * ','="•'■ f™'" » }"S%, manufacturer of Tobacco lo the auihor, is tj,is sentence • " The best 
"frhi^ a' nlSch t.'po'LTble';?'"'' " '"""'' " '" "'' 8™" Tobacco/and to cl^^i" V alUt's im! 
t Heiirv IV., Act i. sc. 4. ,<-..., 

5 Gull's Horn Book, jip. lit, jJO. * ""' ' *"'^^"''- 

V 



278 APPENDIX. 

possible llial il may depend on syinpatliy. Snuffing ia frequently injuri- 
ous to weak and nervous people ; and some physicians, among whom 
was the celebrated Lorry, have ascribed to its use the frequent occur- 
rence of nervous diseases. Il is, however, unfortunate for this opinion, 
that in the royal snuff manufactories of France, comprising a population 
of above 400J persons, the workmen are not subject to any sjjecial dis- 
eases, and they live on an average as long as other people;* in addition 
to the fact, that the most inordinate use of it has not often produced 
nervous affections. 

Snuff, we have said, has been recommended as an errhine or promoter 
of the discharge of the nostrils in a tendency to apoplexy : but although 
the quantity of the fluid discharged may cause the depletion of the ves- 
sels of the iiead, yet, on account of its narcotic quality, snuff ought to 
be employed with caution ; and as we occasionally see great snuff-takera 
seized with apoplexy and palsy on suddenly leaving off its use, there ia 
sufficient reason for regarding il as a less proper errhine than many otiur 
substances. 

The hints that have boon given of some of the medicinal properties 
of Tobacco leave little to be said on this head. Its medicinal qualities 
were early known ; it was named Herba panacea, and admitted into the 
Materia Mcdica of France in )5ti2: and, probably, the abuse of it as a 
medicine gave ri.se to many of the objections to its introduction into 
general use, which were afterwards nurtured by prejudice and falsehood. 
We observe the credulity of its evil effects carried to an absurd length 
in the Counterblaste to which we have already referred : — "It makes," 
says the royal author. " a kitchen, also, oftentimes in -the inward parts 
of men, soyling and infecting them with an unctuous and oily kind of 
soote, as liatli been found in some great tobacco takers, that after their 
death wete opened. "f And not less strong is the prejudice displayed in 
the following opinion of a man of superior intellect, the celebrated au- 
thor of the Anatomy of Melancholy. — " A good vomit I confesse ; a ver- 
tuous herbe, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally 
used ; but as it is conunouly used by most men, which take it as tinkers 
do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischiefe, a violent purger of goods, lands, health; 
liellit=h, develish, damned tobacco; the ruin and overthrow of body and 
soule."! The medicinal properties of Tobacco are, nevertheless, consid- 
erable ; it induces narcotic, sedative, emetic, cathartic, diuretic, and 
errhine effects, according to the manner of administering it and the ex- 
tent of the dose. Its active principles are, undoubtedly, the JiTJcutina, and 
t/ie esseiitial Oilwhich it conlaivs ; before, therefore, noticing its medicinal 
and poisonous qualities, let us understand the nature of these principles 
separated from the plant. 

JVicotina, wiien pure, is a colorless substance, having an acrid taste, 
and the odor that distinguishes Tobacco : it resembles, in some respects, 
the volatile oils, is volatile, and soluble in water and alcohol, forming 
solutions which have the taste and odor of Nicotina. VVhi-n tincture of 
Galls is added to these solutions, the Nicotina is precipitated. Applied 
to the nostrils it causes the most violent sneezing, and is also extremely 
poisonous when swallowed. It is procured from Tobacco by a very 
opr^rose process, t 

The Esseniial Oil of Tobacco is of a green color, hot and pungent to 
the taste, and a virulent poison. It is procured by the distillation of 
the leaves. 

To determine the mode in which Tobacco affects the living frame. Dr. 
Wilson Philip made a number of experiments, with a strong aqueous in- 
fusion of it, on frogs. He found that when it was introduced into the 
heart, this organ immediately became paralytic, and that the same state 

* Annates d'Hypiene Publique et de Med. Leg. i. 169. 1829. 

t The Workes of King Janjes, folio, p. 221. 

t Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, p. 235. vol. i. 

5 Vide Auniles de Chioiie, I. 71. p. 139. 



APPENDIX. 279 

occurs when it is applied directly to the brain, or when thrown into the 
Ktmnnch and intestines. He thesce concluded, that in every instance it 
acts only through the medium of the brain, to which it is conveyed by 
the blood* Some snbse(fuent experiments of Professor Macartney of 
Dublin, have, however, ilemonstrated, that it is on the e.xtremitiesof the 
nerves that 'Pobacco acts with most energyf ; and the still more convinc- 
ing investigations of Mr. Brodie,t afford every reason for thinking that 
Tobacco operates in two distinct ways, according to the form in which 
it is used. When a strong infusion was introduced into the intestines 
of a dog, it killed the animal in ten minutes, by paralyzing the heart, 
which was evident from arterial blood being found iti the aortal cavities 
• ller death ; but when the essential oil was emploj'ed, convulsions and 
coma were excited, and death followed without the heart being affected. 
The same symptoms presented themselves when the oil vi'as applied to 
the tongue of a young cat ; and the powerful influence of it is well illus- 
trated by the account of its eflects on a snake, which we have quoted 
from Barrow's Travels. Now, as the only active principles contained in 
Tobacco are ^icotina and the £ssential Oil, we are disposed to regard the 
former as a direct sedative, which acts chiefly on the sentient extremities 
of the motor nerves, and the latter as a powerful stimulant, operating 
through the influence of the brain and spinal marrow. Is it the Essen- 
tial Oil that causes the primary or stimulant effects of Tobacco, and the 
Nicolina that induces the depression and collapse that follow ? Experi- 
ments are still required to determine this point. 

Notwithstanding these violent effects of Tobacco, it is a useful medi- 
cine, under judicious management. Its fumes, when smoked, are narco- 
tic, relieving the difficulty of breathing in spasmodic asthma, and allay- 
ing the pain of toothache; and Humboldt states, that it is employed in 
Soiith America, by the higher classes, to facilitate the sieste after dinner. 
The very sickness and debility which it causes are taken advantage of, 
to relieve incarcerated hernia, ileus, and obstinate constrictions, by in- 
troducing either the smoke or the infusion into the intestines when other 
remedies fail. The infusion has been employed as an emetic, but the 
practice is very dangerous ; and even its employment in small doses as 
a diuretic, in dropsical aflections, advised by Dr. Fowler, cannot be much 
commended. In one spasmodic affection, however, connected with the 
secretion of the kidney, its influence is taken advantage "of, when the 
patient is not of a delicate habit of body. It is not iinfrequently em- 
ployed by the unprofessional, as an external application in cutaneous 
eruptions, and especially in ringworm of the head (Porrigo Scululatay, 
hut we have witnessed the most violent sickness, giddiness, and alarm- 
ing fainting, follow the use of a Tobacco lotion ; and there is much dan- 
ger if the skin be abraded. In the Oroonoko tlie natives apply chewed 
tobacco to the bite of poisonous snakes.§ 

For the purposes of internal administration, the London College of 
Physicians order a drachm of Tobacco to be macerated for an hour, in ;i 
pint of water ; but, even in this degree of strength, the infusion some- 
times produces violent effect*. Instances are recorded of two drachms, 
instead of one drachm, of the leaves being employed, and proving fatal |) 
The Edinburgh College orders a wine of Tobacco, which may be given 
in doses of from ten to thirty drops; and a syrup of it is employed on 
the Contiuent. Like every other powerful medicine, Tobacco may bo 
rendered IR'allable of much good, when prescribed with judgment and 
discrimination ; but it becomes a most frightful weapon in the hands of 
the ignorant and indiscreet. 

From the eflijcts of the tincture of galls in producing an insoluble and 
consecj^uoutly inert conipnuml with Nicotina, galls, either in infusion or 

• Trcaliee on Febrile Diseases, Wiiiclic..ilcr, 1804. vol. 4lh. Appeiidi.t, pp. 708—716. 

t (IrtiU, Tiaile des Poisnns, vol. ii. parlie I. p. 251. 

t PI"'. Trans. Icir. cil. k Humboldl's Persoi):il Narrative. 

Ii Kdiiiliurgh .MeUicjl and Sur(;ical Juuiual, vol. iii. p. 129. 



280 APPENDIX. 

tincture, should be administered in instances of poisoning by overdoses 
of Tobacco, under any form in vviiich it is taken into the stomach; 
whilst, at the same time, ammonia, brandy, and other stimulants, are 
requisite to rouse the depressed energies of the»nervous system. When 
the danger is pressing, the respiration should be supported by artificial 
means, and kept up until the narcotic influence of the poison is exhaust- 
ed. 

Such is the nature of this potent herb; and such have been the origin 
and dissemination of Tobacco: an object of secondary importance as 
regards the life of Ralegh ; but yet so familiar, and productive of such 
important results, as to awaken general curiosity regarding it. The arms 
of the Romans spread the arts of civilized life among Ihe untutored na-» 
tions over whom they triumphed : the enterprise of one of their conquer- 
ed provinces, a thousand years after the overtlirow of their empire, trans- 
ported an insignificant herb, from the western hemisphere, whose influ- 
ence has e.\teuded over nations the existence of which was unknown to 
the masters of the world. Among the Indian tribes, the calumet is the 
symbol of the peace and concord of nations ; in Christendom, the powder 
of the herb that confers its charm, is that of amicable intercourse and 
social amity between man and man : its smoke, rising in clouds from the 
idolatrous altar of the native Mexican, opened the world of spirits to his 
delirious imagination : to the inhabitants of the opposite hemisphere, 
whilst it has furnished the means of encouraging folly, pampering luxu- 
ry, and waging war, it has, at the same time, contributed to lessen the 
sum of human misery, by allaying pain ; and even assisted in extending 
the boundaries of intellect, by aiding the contemplations of the Christian 
philosopher. 



Note (C). 

Later from Sir Robert Cecil from the Tower at Dartmouth, 2lst September, 
1592.* 
Good Mr. Vice Chamberlaine, 
As soon as I came on boarde the Carick on Wednesday at one of clock, 
with the rest of Her Majesty's commissioners, within one halfe houre Sir 
Walter Ralegh arrived with hys keper Mr. Blunt; I assure you, Sir, hys 
pooro servants, to the number of HO goodly men, and all the mariners, 
came to him with such shouts and joy as I never saw a man more 
troubled to quiet them in my life. But his hart is broken, for he is very 
extreainly pensive longer than he is busied, in wh he can toil terribly. 
But if you dyd heare him rage at the spoiles, finding all the short wares 
utterly devoured, you would laugh, as I do w" I can not choose. The 
meeting betweeno him and Sir John Gilbert, was with teareson Sr John's 
part; and ho, bsliko finding it is knowen he hatha keper, wtiensoever 
he is saluted with congratulations for liberty, he doth answer no, I am 
stylle ye (iueen of England's poore captive. I wished him to conceale it, 
because here it diniinisheth his credite, wh I do vowe to you before God 
is greater amongst the mariners than I thoght for : I do grace him as 
much as I may, for I find him marveilously greedy to do any t^ing to re- 
cover ye conceit of his brutish ofl>;nce. I liave examined Sir John Gil- 
lio'rt by oths, and all his, who I find clearo I protest to you in most men's 
opinions. His heart was so great tyll his brother was at lyberty, as he 
never came but once to the towre, and never was aboord her ; lint now 
he is sworne, he doth sett all wholly abroad to hunt out others, and in- 
forms us dayly by his spies wherein he would not be so bold if he cold 

*The Letters cniit.iine.'l in Ihe Appeiidi.x are cppic.l from the State Taper Office, and now f"r 
the first time printed. 



APPENDIX. 281 

have been more touched, vvli I assure you on my fayth I do think him 
wronged in this, howsoever in others he may have done like a Devon- 
shyre man. We have worth ye looking on to day, of wh I have writ- 
ten to her My. Ratfs whyte and blacke, drink like smoke in tast ; and 
as, God help me, I brougltl so little provision for long tarrying, as I pray 
God I come home without quick cattell ; give me leave to be merry with 
you, for if 1 were whypped, I must wh my friends be bold, in wh noniber 
I account you ; but if you restaure me not in the good thoughts of her 
mynd whose angelicall quality works straunge influences in the harts of 
a cople of servants, according to their generall mouldings, actume est de 
amicitia. From Dartmouth towre, where I am lodged, this 21 7hre 1592. 
Your loveing poore frend, 

Ro. Cectll. 

Good Mr. Vice Cbamberlaine, be good to my sorrowfull poore Bess y 
cosin. 

I shall bring, by informations, of great booties of Sir John Borough 
and others. 



Note (D). 

Letter from Ralegh to Cobham. 

I HAVE sent your Lordship such news as cam to me from abo\'e, and 
your Lordship letter to my Lord treasorer agayne. It was brought me 
by the post at midnight, and I opened it in a badd light, and half asleep, 
and thynkyng it had been to my self I hope yr Lordship will be here to- 
morrow or on Saturday, or else my wife says her oysters will be all spilt, 
and her partridge stale. If your Lordship cannot come friday, I will 
wait on you wher you are. I pray send me word if you go to Lyme or 
Melplashe that I may attend you, for a friday I shall dispatch my busy- 
^ ness with the justices here, for about those rogges the Meers, whereof 
the elder hath been at Court to complain, and brought my Lord Thomas 
to Mr. Secretary to deal for him, the younger Mr. Secy hath now sent for 
by pursuivant, and if it had not been to have sent for information agaynst 
him, I had been with your L.p. this morning. I fear that my Cornish 
men did not repair to your Lordship to do you service because your pas- 
page was so suddyn, but I am sure you have had an ill jurney. I pray 
)'our Lordship to send us word where you have taken up the house at 
Bath or no, that we may send thither. 

Your L. ever and wholly to comand, 

W. R. 

Bess remembers herself to your L.ship, and says your breach of promise 
shall make you fare accordingly. 

The ships of the South Sea that are of Holland is passed by, and none 
of ours stayd her, with a lanterne of clean gold in her stern, and arrived 
at Amsterdam infinite rich. Mr. Manslield hath been abroad to great 
purpose. The Queen is removed to Wan House on Friday, and from 
thence to Knowles's to Readyng, where further it is not yet resolved. 

(No date. Addressed, To Lord Cobham, Warden of the Cinque Ports.) 

Y2 



2S2 APPJBNDIX. 

1 Note (E). 

Letter from Ralegh to Cobham, written during tjte last progress made bp 
Queen FAiiabeth. 
To the right lionorabell the very good lord ye Lorde Cobhame. 
I, THAT know your Lordship's resolution when wee parted, cannot 
tal<e on me to persuade you ; I wyll only say thys much, it is butt a day 
and lialf jurney hither, the Queen will take it exceedyngly kyndly, and 
take herself more beholding unto you than you think. The french tarry 
but '3 or 3 days at most. 1 will presently returne to the bathe with your 
li.shipe agayne ; the IVenche were all blacke, and no braverye at ail, so 
I have only made me a blacke taffeta sute, and leve all my other sutes ; 
this is all I can say, saving I only wysh you a littell to beare and make 
the Clueene so much the more in your debt ; it will be friday er they 
have adience ; it would be long to tell you of the Queen's discourse with 
me of your Lordship, and finding it, I durst not say that I knew you 
were resolved not to come, but lefT it to the estate of your boddy. I 
need not doubt but that your L. will believe that I wish you to hold 
such a course as may best fitt your honor and your humor together; if 
you come she will take it most kyndly, if you come not it shall be 
handled as you will have it, and herein and all else I will remayne youra 
before all the world. 

W. Ralegh. 

I Bassyng, this Saturday nigght : late. 

I am even now going all night to London, to provide a plainc taffeta 

sute, and a plaine blacke saddle, and will be here agayne Tuesday night ; 

and if your Frenche jirney hold, it will much glad you for them to know 

that you are here, for I am resolved that the Queen will i — ' — •— ~ — 

' -.--< i|ge you. 



Note (F), 

Letter from Lord Orey to King James. 

No date : probably 1603. 

By every one that cometh from your Majesty, I gather thus much of 
your deep displeasure, that I protest (I am) necr desperade of favor ; life 
and liberty grow odious, and hope only remaineth by my blood to deer 
the obstruction my sighs could not breath out, and by death to rid my- 
self of torment. Once only give me leave in tlieas bitter agonies to ex- 
postulate with you, eaven my king; thinketh your majty, that beecaus 
I never yeeld, for my soul is deer to intend your royall hurt, that there- 
fore I justify myself, extenuate your mercy, or dy not in contrition as 
much as flesh and blood can suffer ? Quid ergo? Indislincta hcec defensio 
elpromiscua elabrilurl Imvio Justis terminus dividalur : punishe my of- 
foncos, which I now feel, and confess of such nature, as tomorrow cut 
of my hoad, I wilt say you are but just. But of necessity, becaus of my 
infinite folly, must I intend treason against your sacred person? What, 
I beseech your Ma'y should bee my ends? Not religion, for they were 
|)ai)ists : not ambition, for thear was not one, one whome I might trust, 
but rather that I knew would seeke my ruine: Besides their own con- 
fessions are that I renounced the action : Judg then as you pleas : tibi 
cnimfunumrernm judicium dii dedcre, nobis obsequii gloria relicta est: 
this only must I feal with my death however mine eye was in discern- 
ing, mine heart was never false in assenting to your perils : An offence 



APPENDIX. 383 

yet soe great, as I shun not to dy, only for the antiquity of soe noable a 
race, for soe much unstained blood as have spilt in the heads of your aun- 
cestor's armies, for 400 yeers loyalty, during which time the hous of 
Wilton hath florished untoucht : for mine own zeal to your princely self 
which this deliverer knows, would have poured forth my life blood in de- 
fence of your right to this royale seat, let not one wretched offence of 
youth, though I dy, stain my heart, my hous, with treasonous intent. 
Your mercy allready is admirable to the world; to your self (eaven in 
oflfences neer this nature) and not repented ; not unprospered with fu- 
ture and most faithful loyalty, many have tasted it, all, with joy, ad- 
mire It. Must I bee the only example of justice? If serviceable, if pleas- 
ing to you, in whose displeasure I desire not to live, it is welcum ; I 
neither shun, nor protract it, but while I live will love, and honor you 
and, when I dy, will bless you with the faithfullest prayers, and most 
contrite penitency of j'our Majestie's most devote, loving, and loyale 
subject and servant, 

Grey. 



• Note (G). 

Postscript to a Letter from Ralegh to Cobham. 

Mir Lord Viscount Cecyl so e.xalted Meer's suit agaynst mee in my 
absence as not allowing Mr. Serjint Henlie, nor any else could be heard for 
mee, to stay trialls whilst I was out of the land in her Majestie's service— 
a right in the curtesey afforded to every beggar. I never bussied myself 
with the Viscount, neither of his e.\tortions, or poysoning hys wife. As 
it is here averred, I have forborne him in respect to my Lord Thomas; 
and chiefly because of Mr. Secretary, who in his love to my Lord Thomas 
hath wished me to it, but I will not endure wrong at so peevish a fool's 
hand any longer, I will rather lose my life, and I think that my Lord 
Puritan Penan doth think that the Queen shall have greater use of 
logges and villaines than of me, or else he would at Bindon's instance 
have yielded to my actions, being out of the land. 



Note (H). 

LeUer from the Lieutenant of the Tower to Cccyll. Signed John Peyton. 

July 30. 1603. 

Right honorable my very good lord, Sr Walter Rawley his hurte wyll 
be whn* these two days pfectly hoole ; he doth styll contyiieue pple.xed 
at you leffle him, he is desirous to have Mr heriot com to hym, wherin I 
cannot conceave any inconveniencie if it shall so,stand with' the LLdt 
their honorable pleasures. My Lord Cobham his spirites ar e.xceedin" 
muche declyned, hisgrowne passionate in lanientatyon and sorrowe, his 
only hope is in his Majiie's mercye, and yr mediation. I am e.xceeding 
gladde to heare that my good friend S>- George harvye shall succeed me 
in this place whom I will assiste in all thingos that shall be whin my 
power, yr Lordships honorable favors I wyll ever acknowledge and 
shal seeke to merit them wthe my best servynge, nioste humbly taking 
my leave. Towere, this 30 July 1603. 

You L.shipa ever bound, 

John Peyton. 

Postscript. 

• Within. M/aiM. 



284 APPENDIX. 

Note (I). 

Sir W. Wait to Cecil. " Endorsed to me" in Cecil's handwriting. 

Aug. 27. 1603. 

To the r. h. my especiall good L. &c. 

It may please your good Lordship, Keymis, servant to S' Walter Ra- 
leygh, sent this declaration ready written of his own hand, to yr Lieu- 
tenant, my self being then w'h him at the Tower, after my Lord Henry 
Howard was gon from thence, wherehy your Lordship may perceave how 
after so obstinate a resolution of sylence he beginnethe at the lengthe to 
speake, and I doubt not, havingc now opened the hatche of his closet, he 
will be lesse reserved, and more willing to utter that is behind. 



Note (K). 

From Sir W. JVaad to Lord Cecyll. 

Aug. 3. 1603. 
y< it may please yor good L. I send yc L. ye declaracions of Sr Waller 
Rawley and the L. Gray : By the L. Grays it doth plainly appeare he had 
a plot, a parti, and conflderats ; for in the bcgcnning he confisseth as 
much, and after saith he used these speeches to Mr. Brooke, desiring that 
hee to his would not discloss meo, neither would I once name him to 
myne. Mr. Brooke is taking the like course, wlierrin I wished him to be 
before and not behind the rest, as well in ample declaracion as in time, 
which I thinck he will perfornie This may give further occasion of new 
questions to be demanded of them, and so greatt knowledg and certainty 
had of this plotte. My L. Gray is now conflssed. Sr Walter Rawley was 
ordinarily thriss a week with the L. Cobhnm, what their conferencies 
were none but themselves doe knowe. But Mr. Brooke confidently thinck- 
" eth what his brother knows was known to ye other. Mi L. Gray desireth 
Mr. Lieutenant and me to send this Letter to yo. L. (He then proceeds 
to say, that Pennicock's declaration toucheth chiefly Lord Cobhain. The 
rest of this letter refers to some suit on the part of Sir W. Waad to the 
King for the fulfilment of some grant given by her late Majesty, but un- 
perfected.) 



Note (O). 

Endorsed in Cecil's hand-writing, '■^My Letter to my Lord Orey." 

Probably Aug. 1603. 

Till my Lords (on whom I attend by his Majty order) have spoken wh 
the King, I can say nor more then this, that I have neither power nor pur- 
pose to proceede in this, but by their dyrection who have more iudgment 
and longer interest in matters of justice and honour than I have, with- 
out whom, whylst I doe nothing, I assure myself you will neither doubt 
nor myslisk the proceedings, for they doe both know what is iust, what 
is honour, and wish ye innocency, howsoever envy or malice may have 
distracted your conceipt of my disposition. 

That aii» your Lord, friend. 



APPENDIX. 285 



Note (P). 

Letter from Hen. Cobham addressed to the Ryght Ho. my very Oood Lord 
the Erie of JiTottivgham, Lord High .admiral, the Erie of Suffolk, Lord 
Chamberlain, y lord Cisell, his Ma'tie's principal Secretarie. 

IVfy very good Lords, — So low is my poor estat at this present yt no 
reequitell for y favors can I proinis, but while I breath will pray for 
God ever to assist you and keepe you from afflixon wh my soule in ye 
liighest degre is moved of. Out of charitie this I humbly pray of your 
Lordships that I might speak with you all 3, you shall be a means thereby 
to send me in peace to ye grave, the bottom of my hart I will disclos unto 
you which to naliving creature but to yourselfs I will do. God send you 
all as great comfort as my afflixon is great ; and go to God's protection 
do I with you. From my prison in ye Tourthis Tuesday morning. 
Yor Lordships poore afflicted frend. 

Henry Cobham. 

Oct. 1603. 

Letter from George Brooke to Cecyle. 

Nov. 18. 1603. 

She that loved me and whose memorie you yeat love, beholding from 
heaven the extreme calamitye of her father's howse. Shalle I need say 
any more after this? 'tis alle but weake, if I pray you tocancell injuries 
past, you have promised to do so, and I believe that if I promise you 
any thinge of myself, you may truly say you need it not nor care for it: 
Therefore I must stande onely upon yor free disposition, and shal be so 
much the more assured bycausse nothinge binds you. Leave now I be- 
seeche your LP to be nice, and sticke not to dissever yourself in my re- 
lief. But above alle give me leave to conjure you to deale directly wit 
me, what I am to expect, after so many promises receaved, and so much 
conformitie and accepted service performed on my part to you. 
Your Lordships' brother 

in law to command 

G. Brooke. 



Note (Q). 



The portion of this Letter in p. 160 is an extract, the rest referring to 
arrangements for the management of the prisoners. It is dated Nov. 13. 
1603. and contains the first minute and authentic accountof this journey 
that has been published. See p. 160. 



Note (R). 

Letter of Sir W. Ralegh to King James /. 

1603, or 4. 

May it please your most excellent Majesty, I was of late sent unto for 

the sealc of the Dutcliy of Cornwall, which together with the office of 

Warden and Chancellour, I received at the hands of my late sovereign. 

Tins scale appertaineth not to me to dispose, but to your Majy only, and 



286 APPENDIX. 

therefore I have entreated my L. Cecyll to present the same, for myself 
I have interest in nothing but your Maj'« mercy onely. God knowes 
what faith I do, and have ever born your Majy, move your imperiall 
heart to perfect your graces begun. If I be here restrained untill the 
powers both of my body and mind shall bee so infeebled, as I cannot hope 
to do your Majy some acceptable and extraordinary service, whereby I 
may truly approve my Faith and intentions to my Sovereign, Lord God 
doth know that then it had bin happiest for me to have died lojig siijce. 
For the everlivingGod doth bear me record, that it is to no other chief end, 
that I desire to live a day. I most humbly beseech your MaJy, even for 
the love of our lord Jfsus, to think that I can never forget the Mercies 
of the King, who hath vouchsafed to lift me out of the grave, being then 
friendless, lost, and forsaken of all men. Pardon mee, most renowned 
King. But to say this much, that if it please your Majy to have com- 
passion of me, while I have yet limbs and eyes, that your MaJy shall 
never have cause to accuse, or repent your Majia mercy towards me, 
beseeching the Lord of all Power and Justice to strike me with the great- 
est misery of Body and Soul, when I shall not remain a most faithfuU, 
and humble, and gratefull Vassall. 



Note (S). 

To the Queen's most excellent Maiestie. 

I DID lately presume to send unto your Maiestie the coppie of a letter 
written to my Lord Treasorer touching Guiana, that there is nothing 
done therein I could not but wounder with the world, did not the mallice 
of the world exceedc the wisedonie thereof In mine owne respect, the 
cverliviug God doth witness that I never sought such an employment, for 
all the gold in the earth could not invite me to travell after miserie and 
death, both which I had bine likeler to have overtaken in that voyage 
than to have returned from it; but the desire that led me, was the ap 
proving of uiy fayth to his Maiestie, and to have done him such a service 
as hath seldome bine pformed for any king. But, most excellent Princes, 
although his Maiestie do not so much love himself for the present iis to 
accept of that riches which God have offred him, therby to take all pre- 
sumption from his enemies, arising from the want of treasor, by which 
(after God) all States are defended : yet it may be that his Maiestie will 
consider more deiply thcrof hereafter, if not too late, and that the disso- 
lution of his humble vassall do not preceede his Maiestie's resolution 
therein ; for my extreeme shortnes of breath doth grow .so fast on me, 
with the (lispayre of obtayning so much grace to walke with my keepei 
up the hill withine the tower, as it makes me resolve that God hath 
otherwise disposed of that busenes and of me, who after eight yeers im- 
prisonment am as strayghtly lokt up as I was the first day, and the pun- 
ishment dew to other mens extreame negligence layd altogether upon my 
patience and obedience. In which respect, most worthy Princes, it were 
a sute farr more fitting the hardnes of my destinie (who every day suffer 
and am subject every day to suffer for other mens offences) rather to de- 
sire to dye once for all, and therby to give end to the miseries of this life, 
than to strive against the ordinance of God, who is a trew judge of my 
innocence towards the king, and doth know me, 

for your Maiestie's most 
humble and most 

bound vassall 

W. Ralbou. 



APPENDIX. 287 

Note (U). 

Document signed. Mdressed to Cecil. Endorsed, ijt Cecil's hand-writing, 
" The Judgment of Sir W. Ralegh's case." 

Sir Walter Ralegh's complayning is in this manner: All his lefte 
syde is extreme cold, out of senss, or motion, or num. His fingers on the 
same syde beginning to he contracted, and his tong taken in sum parte in 
so mych that he spheketh wekely and it is to be feared he may utterly 
lose the use of it. peter turner, Doctor of phisick, in respect of these 
circumstances, to speke lyke a physitian, it were good for hym if it myght 
eland with your Ilonore's lykyng that he were removed from the cold 
lodgyng where he now lyeth unto a warmer, that is to say, a litle roome, 
which he hath bill in the garden adjoynyng to his stilhouse. (No date.) 



Note (Y). 

Since the preceding letters were transcribed, this documetU was dis- 
covered. It is curious, as showing the interest which Queen Elizabeth 
took in Ralegh. 

. From Q. Elizth. to her Vice Roy in Ireland 1582. By the Queene. 
RioHT trusty and well beloved we greet you well. Wher yve be given 
to understand that Captain Appesley is not longe since deceased and the 
band of footmen which he had committed now to James Fenton : for 
that as we are informed said Fenton hath otherwise an entertainment 
> by a certain wanl under his charge, but chiefly for that our pleasure is to 
have our servant Walter Rawley trained some longer time in that our 
realm for his better experience in martiall affairs, and for the speciall care 
we have to do him good in respect of hys kyndred that have served us 
some of them (as you know) neer about our parson ; theise are to requier 
you that the leading of the said bande may be committed to the said 
Rawley, and for that he is for somme considerations by us excused to 
staye heere, ourc pleasure is that the said ban^ shall be in the meane 
tyme till he repair into that our realm delivered to somme sooclie as he 
shall depute to be his lieutenant there. Given at our Manor of (Jreene 
wiclie— the April 1582 — 24 year of our Reign. 



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